December (surimono)

A small [surimono](/glossary/surimono) — a privately commissioned woodblock print, typically issued in limited quantities for haiku or waka circles to mark a seasonal occasion — by Suzuki Shōnen, datable around 1900–1910 and held by the Honolulu Museum of Art. The narrow vertical format and refined color printing are characteristic of the late Meiji revival of surimono among Kyoto haiku circles. The composition is keyed to December, the twelfth month of the lunar calendar and the season for plum-bud watching, year-end gatherings, and the visual conventions of waiting snow. Shōnen's involvement in surimono of this kind links him to a long Kyoto tradition of literary print collaborations and shows his sustained interest in the woodblock medium beyond his core practice as a painter; the small print is a useful counterpart to his contemporaneous illustrated books and large painted screens.