Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art

About this Work

Just as in the companion print for this series, the man cutting the radish is a yamabushi and the woman is a courtesan. The poetry contains many references to spring and the Yoshiwara, or red-light district in the city of Edo (Tokyo).

Poem:

In the New Year
The Spring greetings are
The gift money
That blossoms on the pines
On the catering trays at the Yoshiwara
—Sugachika-an Sahomaru

In the cherry wood
Engraving the views
Of the Yoshiwara
Spring brocade
The pride of Edo
—Bujin no mado Tsuranari

Turning to see
The blue willows
Outside the Ōmon Gate
It beckons in the wind
Waving one hand, then the other
—Tekuda Nagabuni

Since the guard
At the plum garden is old
He is happy to see the plum
Blossoms smile
On the small southern branches
—Karahashi Wataru

The Manjusri
Cutting the daikon
Dropwort and mother’s heart
Is it the Sea of Yosa
Beating the waves on the sixth night?
—Shunman