Yashima Gakutei, A Woman with a Box and A Woman with Spools, 1820s. Gift of George Pierce Metcalf 56.039.35–.36.
PROVIDENCE, RI.- The RISD Museum presents The Artistry and Reunion of Two Surimono Albums, a major exhibition opening May 23, 2026, that reunites for the first time in nearly 100 years two extraordinary albums of Japanese surimono—luxurious woodblock prints that combine poetry, imagery, and exquisite craftsmanship.
Originally assembled in Osaka in the late 1820s by poet Iga Kurimi, the albums bring together more than 175 works created by designers, poets, and printmakers working at the intersection of visual art and literary culture. These intricately produced prints invite close looking and active interpretation, pairing richly layered imagery with witty kyōka verse—a playful and often subversive form of classical Japanese poetry…