Still life with Jo and Uba, by Ryuryukyo Shinsai

An image of Still life with Jô and Uba. Shinsai , Ryûryûkyo (Japanese, active c.1799-1823). Colour print from woodblocks with metallic pigment, blind embossing (karazuri) and fabric printing (nunomezuri). Shikishiban format surimono. Circa 1820. Known as the Eternal Couple, Jô and Uba fell in love when young, and after living to a very old age their spirits came to abide in pine trees, one on Takasago beach in Harima, and the other at Sumiyoshi in Sesshô near Osaka. Their spirits returned on moonlit nights in human form, Jô with a rake and Uba with a broom, to continue clearing pine needles on Takasago Beach. The evergreen pine needles, like the love of the Eternal Couple, symbolise longevity, a common theme for surimono given or exchanged at New Year.

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Still life with Jô and Uba. Shinsai , Ryûryûkyo (Japanese, active c.1799-1823). Colour print from woodblocks with metallic pigment, blind embossing (karazuri) and fabric printing (nunomezuri). Shikishiban format surimono. Circa 1820. Known as the Eternal Couple, Jô and Uba fell in love when young, and after living to a very old age their spirits came to abide in pine trees, one on Takasago beach in Harima, and the other at Sumiyoshi in Sesshô near Osaka. Their spirits returned on moonlit nights in human form, Jô with a rake and Uba with a broom, to continue clearing pine needles on Takasago Beach. The evergreen pine needles, like the love of the Eternal Couple, symbolise longevity, a common theme for surimono given or exchanged at New Year.

Image data

Accession Number: P.66-1938
Photograph copyright © The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge
Aperture: f/16.0
Focal length: 80
Camera: Hasselblad H3DII-31
Photographer name: Michael Jones
Image height: 1024 pixels
Image width: 891 pixels
Processed with: Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5.6 (Macintosh)
Filesize: 163.56kB
Exposure time: 1/125
ISO Speed: 100
Fnumber: 16/1
Captured: 2013:08:16 12:11:38

Key words

19th Century 458392 Date Department Edo Period Fitz_PDP Japanese Jo and Uba Medium Nationalities Object Type Other Keywords People Ryuryukyo Shinsai Shikishiban Workflow _WF_AdOK _WF_KWD _WF_OPACtd _WF_PCtd aged clothes clothing costume couple elderly eternal longevity man old old age old man old woman pine needles pine trees pipes print scroll surimono trees ukiyo-e woman woodblock woodcut

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            The Fitzwilliam Museum (2026)
            "Still life with Jo and Uba, by Ryuryukyo Shinsai "
            Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/image/media-188759 Accessed: 2026-01-09 09:11:18

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            |title=Still life with Jo and Uba, by Ryuryukyo Shinsai 
            |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2026-01-09 09:11:18|publisher=The
            University of Cambridge}}

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