A Low Tide Pentaptych

Utagawa Kuniyoshi • 1830

A Low Tide Pentaptych, 1830

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Five surimono 刷物, privately commissioned prints known literally as "printed things," make up this image of women collecting sea life at low tide. Ten poems written by members of a poetry salon appear across the upper part of the composition. All but one contain the words "low tide," with the remaining poem describing abalone as a sought-after jewel.