Shōki zu – Vintage Print
![Shōki zu, [between 1741 and 1751] — historic print](https://images.jameslantos.com/img/48/48602d0c8a2a-L.webp)
(Originally scanned by the Library of Congress. Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)
Description
This rare historic print captures Shōki zu in remarkable detail. The original is held by the Library of Congress, so what you hang is a true record of its time.
The framed print arrives ready to hang; the unframed option suits custom framing. It makes a striking addition to a living room, study or office, and a thoughtful gift. Free shipping in the lower 48 states. Snapshots of the Past has been bringing history to the wall since 2001, for tens of thousands of customers worldwide.
Shōki zu
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A tall, narrow Shōki, the demon-queller from Chinese legend, sets this pillar print apart from the broader Chinese-hero subjects in the same group. In the legend, Shōki was a scholar who failed the imperial examinations, took his own life, and was then buried with honor, returning to hunt down demons. His image became a popular charm against evil in Japan. The print is signed by Okumura Masanobu, an Edo artist and an early figure in ukiyo-e printmaking, and dates from roughly the 1740s, when vertical prints like this were pasted on wooden pillars in homes and shops.
| Created / published | [between 1741 and 1751] |
|---|---|
| Medium | 1 print : woodcut, color ; 69.2 x 10.1 cm. |
| Genre | organized by the Library of Congress, 2001. |
| Notes | Title and other descriptive information compiled by Nichibunken-sponsored Edo print specialists in 2005-06. Signed: Hōhetsu Tanchō Okumura Bunkaku Masanobu Baio (Studio Okumura Bintaku Masonobu). Format: Hashirae Urushie (pillar print). Mounted with a surrounding paper frame imitating that of a hanging scroll. DLC Forms part of: Japanese prints and drawings (Library of Congress). Published in: The Floating world of Ukiyo-e ... / essays by Sandy Kita .... New York ..., 2001, no. 7, p. 21. Exhibited: The Floating world of Ukiyo-e: shadows |
| Subjects | Heroes--China--1740-1760. |
| Source | Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division |
| Original scan | 3,660 × 4,564 px · prints to 12 × 15 in at 300 dpi |
| Reference | AMZ-SOTP-HPA-221960 |
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