Subject

Surimono, literally, “printed thing,” emerged as a special form of deluxeJapanese woodblock print in the mid-eighteenth century. Unlike most woodblock prints, surimono were not produced commercially but were instead printed in small editions for private use. 

Surimono were frequently distributed as greeting cards for the New Year or for other special occasions. The combination of poem and image is their most distinctive feature. The poems are usually kyôka, a kind of witty poem, which relies on word play or parodies of classical verse. 

At the end of the nineteenth century, surimono were much sought-after among European collectors. Today some surimono survive in just a single impression, or in only a very few impressions. The most beautiful of the over three hundred prints from the Marino Lusy Collection—including some previously unknown sheets—are presented for the first time in this exhibition at the Museum Rietberg. 

The topics for the prints originated in the kyôka poetry gatherings popular at the time, and the poets themselves commissioned a woodblock artist to translate their poems into pictorial form. Surimono are distinguished by the particularly lavish printing techniques. The generous application of gold and silver is striking, as is the frequent use of embossing to create designs in relief. The preferred format is the shikishiban, which is almost square-shaped. 

For the most part, surimono celebrate the New Year, which coincided with the beginning of spring in the lunar calendar used in pre-modern Japan.Therefore the prints usually include depictions of typical New Year’s foods and customs Surimono also had an important function as calendar prints, which provided information about the ever-changing distribution of the long and short months during a year or the relevant zodiac sign. In addition, there were surimono that drew on the traditional subjects of commercial woodcuts, such as beautiful women, famous Kabuki plays, and the world of the pleasure quarters. As the poems are an essential element in these prints, surimono frequently allude to classical themes of Japanese literature. 

With support from Japan Concierge AG

The Marino Lusy Collection
Marino Lusy (1880–1954), whose forebears hailed from Greece, was a globetrotter and keen alpinist. He lived in Trieste, Paris, and Montreux. He was well traveled, and made a number of visits to East Asia, including Japan. Although Lusy originally studied architecture, he later devoted himself exclusively to drawing and etching. In 1921 he became a Swiss citizen. He bequeathed his valuable collection to the Museum für Gestaltung Zürich. Today the Lusy Collection is on permanent loan to the Museum Rietberg Zürich.

Publication
The exhibition is accompanied by a collection catalogue in English: Reading Surimono: The Interplay of Text and Image in Japanese Prints, with a Catalogue of the Marino Lusy Collection, edited by John T. Carpenter, published by Brill/Hotei Publishing, Leiden. Professor Carpenter teaches History of Japanese Art at the School of Oriental and African StudiesUniversity of London. 

The Museum Rietberg has published an abridged version of the collection catalogue in German with contributions by John T. Carpenter and Nadin Hée. 

The surimono research project at the Institute for Cultural Studies in the Arts, ZHdK, in cooperation with the Museum Rietberg and the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures, London, was supported by the Schweizerischer Nationalsfonds SNF/DORE (Swiss National Science Foundation).

Events
Muhai Tang, conductor 
N. Mosca, harp 

The Zurich Chamber Orchestra at the Museum Rietberg: Contemporary music from and about Japan 
Wednesday, 11 March 2009, 7:30 pm 

Programme 
Works by Takemitsu, Debussy, Hosokawa, Akutagawa 

Tickets CHF 50 / members of the Rietberg-Gesellschaft CHF 40 
Available only at the Zurich Chamber Orchestra ticket office 0848 84 88 44, billettkasse@zko.ch

Information on the exhibition
Exhibition concept and project direction Dr. Katharina Epprecht, Curator for Japanese Art, Museum Rietberg Zürich 
Exhibition designer and architect Martin Sollberger 
Public relations Katharina Epprecht, Christine Ginsberg 

Hours Tues to Sun 10 am to 5 pm, Wed and Thurs 10 am to 8 pm 
Holidays closed on 24/12 and 31/12; open on 25/12 and 1/1, 10 to 13/4: 10 am – 5 pm 
Admission CHF 16 / 12. Youth up to 16 years free of charge 
Public tours in German December until February Sun 2 pm; March and April Sun 11 am, Wed 6 pm, Thurs 12.15 pm 
Private tours by appointment, call +41 44 206 31 11 / 31 

Crafts workshop Every Sunday 10 am to 4 pm (for children, adults, and families) 

Access Tram 7 to the stop “Museum Rietberg” (4 stops from Paradeplatz), bus 33 to “Hügelstrasse” or suburban train to Bahnhof Enge. 

No parking spaces. The museum can be accessed by wheel-chair. Parking for the disabled.