Plums and Biwa

This print features a New Year design with a biwa (a musical instrument) resting against white and red plum branches, symbols of the New Year. Tanomura Shosai’s signature also reads: shihitsu (“the first painting of the year”).The design on the biwa was added by a different artist. Signed Jomu in an immature hand, it may have been done by a young apprentice or son of the artist. The New Year was traditionally a time for beginnings, and new artists were introduced to the wider world at this time, usually accompanied by an older, more established figure. This print may mark the debut of a new artist.