Flower Vendors

Matsumura Keibun, one of the leading artists of the Shijø school, lived his whole life in Kyoto and spent the better part of it in the Shijø district, after which the group took its name. Located in the city center and containing the pleasure quarter Gion, Shijø was a flourishing amusement area. The district was known for its fashionable restaurants and teahouses frequented by artists and poets. The poetry society that commissioned Keibun to design this print may have had their New Year's gathering in one of these popular establishments. This print shows an itinerant flower vendor and his assistant. Included among their offerings are camellia, nandin, and gleichenia fern, all typically used in the New Year's decorations. Thus, Keibun tastefully conveys a sense of the season in this charming image.