Wind bell

A seasonal subject treating the furin, the small glass or metal wind bell traditionally hung from the eaves in summer. In Japanese visual culture, the furin is closely tied to the iconography of the warm months—paired with morning glories, paper strips bearing haiku, or the suggestion of a passing breeze registered through the strip of paper (tanzaku) attached below the clapper. As a print subject, the wind bell falls broadly within the kacho-e tradition extended in the twentieth century to encompass quiet domestic and seasonal still-life. The composition typically isolates the bell against a partial verandah view or open sky, relying on bokashi gradation for atmosphere and on careful keyblock work for the curve of glass and the calligraphic strip. A subject of this kind aligns with the nature-oriented portion of Shusui's documented output and reflects the shin-hanga and sosaku-hanga era's interest in finding pictorial weight in small, intimate objects rather than in narrative grandeur.