Ryuryukyo Shinsai Monkey at the New Year (Saru no shogatsu), 1810's.
Superb print in an oak frame with glass frontage.
Poems by Taihado Nomimasu and Taiheiraku Sakamori; poem concerning drinking from the large red sake cup depicted in the upper right corner
The monkey depicted here wears a black eboshi hat and a happi coat marked with the character of âgood fortuneâ (fuku). It also carries on its shoulder a gohei, a staff decorated with plaited paper streamers and used in various Shinto blessing and purification rituals. The monkeyâs costume refers to the saru-mawashi show, a New Yearâs performance in which monkeys, believed to have the power to exorcise evil spirits, purified the stables of samurai and rich villagers. The word âmonkeyâ is pronounced âsaruâ which also means âto expelâ in Japanese.
The inscribed poems refer to drinking from the red sake cup depicted in the upper right corner.