Dragon (Tatsu)

Yashima Gakutei designed Dragon (Tatsu) in 1826 as the fifth animal in his complete zodiac [surimono](/glossary/surimono) cycle. The Victoria and Albert Museum preserves the print among the artist's calendrical designs.

Of all the zodiac creatures, the dragon offered the surimono designer the greatest opportunity for spectacle. Gakutei depicts the creature emerging from clouds or amid waves, its serpentine body twisting through space with claws extended and whiskers streaming. Scales are rendered through patterned overprinting, and the dragon's eyes, horns, and flame-like appendages are picked out with fine detail. Where other zodiac animals might be reduced to relatively quiet poses, the dragon's mythic stature warrants a more dramatic composition that exploits the surimono format's capacity for embossing, metallic pigments, and complex color work.