Prosperity: Ding Gu (Roku, Teiko), from an untitled series of happiness, prosperity, and longevity

From an untitled [surimono](/glossary/surimono) series on the theme of happiness, prosperity, and longevity, this [shikishiban](/glossary/shikishiban) depicts Ding Gu under the rubric of Roku, or Prosperity, drawing on the Chinese sancai tradition of three star deities whose names organized vast iconographic territories in both Chinese and Japanese decorative arts. Held by the Art Institute of Chicago and dated to around 1824, the print is part of a coordinated set in which fortune, prosperity, and long life were each personified through Chinese exemplars, a project that allowed kyoka poets to inscribe verse in dialogue with the most universal aspirations of Edo-period auspicious imagery. Gakutei's choice of Ding Gu as the embodiment of Roku reflects the depth of his Sinophile literary sources, since the figure is drawn from specific Chinese textual traditions rather than the more familiar generic personifications of prosperity. Metallic pigments accent the figure's robes and the surrounding ground in keeping with the surimono format's technical standards.