26. HOKUSAI (1760-1849). Objects for the incense game

KATSUSHIKA HOKUSAI  (1760-1849)

A group of objects for the incense game.
The incense competition was an aristocratic pastime that consisted
of recognizing different types of essence that were burned for the
occasion. Various types of tools were used to cut and burn incense.
Horse and rider pieces were used to mark the progress in the game
on a board. The tray, decorated around the edges with the symbol of
the Yomo-gawa group of poets, contains a packet of incense,
a feather, silver chopsticks, and a ceramic container for burning
incense.

Woodblock colour print with metallic pigments details
Shikishiban surimono, 20,6x18,4 cm
Signed: Fusenkyo Iitsu hitsu
Poems by Shōriutei Shigeru, Seiseisha Fumigaki and Yomo Utagaki
Magao
Title: Incense Horse Game (Keibakō)
From the series A selection of Horses (Uma zukushi). A series of thirty
surimono published for the horse year. The titles are included within
a gourd-shaped cartouche. The gourd was the attribute of the
mythical Chōkarō sennin from which he produced a magic horse
that could, when required, carry him thousands of miles in a single
day
Privately published by the Yomo-gawa group of poets
1822, year of the horse

Another impression is illustrated in Mirviss. The Frank Lloyd Wright
Collection, no. 33, where the poems are translated by John Carpenter.
A surimono by Hokkei illustrated in Ostier. La voix silencieuse des
choses, no. 82, shows a group of similar tools and a complete board

Illustrated in our catalogue Surimono. Hokusai-Shinsai-Hokkei-Gakutei, 
September 2024, no. 26.

Very good impression and colour, some light thinning

Price: Euro 3500

Status: Available



Item: D 312