Snake

Snake, in an early-twentieth-century impression catalogued by the Japanese Art Open Database, depicts a serpent crawling through bushes in search of prey. The print is in dai-ōban (large ōban) format, approximately 35 by 47 cm, and is signed and sealed in red by Seihō. The snake (hebi) was a recurring subject in Seihō's practice — appearing both as part of the zodiac album (where it represents the mi or snake year) and as an independent design like this one — and his handling of the reptile's slender, sinuous body in [sumi](/glossary/sumi) line is a virtuoso demonstration of the Shijō-school brush. The composition foregrounds the snake against a lightly washed ground of grasses and foliage, with the eye drawn to the curve of the body and the focal alertness of the head. The Japanese Art Open Database notes this impression is in very good condition with excellent color and impression quality. Snakes in Japanese visual culture carry both protective and threatening associations — guardian of the household kitchen, but also messenger of the kami at certain shrines — and their inclusion in the zodiac and in independent designs allowed painters to display their brush control through a continuous, fluid line that few other subjects required.