Low Tide at Susaki - A Set of Five (Shiohi goban no uchi)

"Low Tide at Susaki - A Set of Five (Shiohi goban no uchi)" is a c. 1828/30 color woodblock print by Utagawa Kuniyoshi that belongs to the series of surimono prints in which the Japanese master explored the poetry and beauty of the coastal landscape with the same dramatic energy that he brought to his warrior prints and his mythological scenes. The composition is a shikishiban pentaptych—a set of five prints designed in the square format associated with poetry cards—showing the coast at Susaki with the boats and figures rendered in the vivid colors and bold designs that made Kuniyoshi one of the most popular and influential printmakers of the Edo period. The c. 1828/30 date places this work in the period of Kuniyoshi's most intensive production of surimono and landscape prints, when he was exploring the possibilities of the woodblock medium for creating images of extraordinary coloristic richness and compositional originality. Art historians have connected this print to the broader tradition of the Japanese coastal landscape, from the prints of Hokusai to the paintings of the Kano school, noting that Kuniyoshi's treatment is more dramatic, more focused on the human activity and the narrative content of the scene than the contemplative or the decorative approaches of these other traditions. The work also demonstrates Kuniyoshi's mastery of the surimono format: the square shape and the exquisite printing create an image of extraordinary refinement and visual impact.

This c. 1828/30 surimono pentaptych made Susaki coastal drama coloristically rich through shikishiban poetry-square format and vivid woodblock boldness, using Edo-period surimono refinement to transform Japanese landscape into human-narrative visual impact beyond Hokusai contemplative decoration.

It matters because Kuniyoshi carved five views of a beach and made the woodblocks feel like they were breathing salt air—proving that even a tide could tell a story if the prints were vivid enough.