You are wearing a piece of Edo-period Japan.

Created around 1820 by Teisai Hokuba (亭斎北馬, 1771–1844) — a direct pupil of the legendary Katsushika Hokusai — this exquisite surimono woodblock print belongs to the Harusame shū (春雨集, "Spring Rain Collection"), a series of privately commissioned luxury prints created for an elite poetry group in Utsunomiya, north of Edo.

Surimono were the most refined form of Edo-period print-making — never sold commercially, only gifted among poets, scholars, and connoisseurs. Hokuba achieved something remarkable here: by eliminating ink outlines entirely and using only gradated tonal washes, he made a woodblock print feel like a painting. Two swallows cut through the air above white and red peonies — the whole composition breathes with spring, speed, and delicate joy.

The kyōka poems inscribed above speak of swallows returning in the cold spring air and peonies swaying in the breeze — the eternal Japanese pairing of movement and stillness, the transient and the rooted.

Held today in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (H. O. Havemeyer Collection, 1929).

✦ This is the Light Color Version — available in White, Natural, Soft Cream and more. The warm ivory tones of the original surimono paper blend seamlessly with light fabric, preserving the delicate brushwork exactly as Hokuba intended. For the dark version, see our Dark Color Version listing.

PhD-curated. Museum-verified. Real Japan.

• Double-sided print — artwork front, Hokuba's story on back
• Premium Bella+Canvas 3001 unisex tee
• Soft, lightweight 100% ring-spun cotton
• Retail fit — true to size
• Machine wash cold, inside out. Do not iron directly on print.

Care instructions

- Machine wash: cold (max 30C or 90F)

- Non-chlorine: bleach as needed

- Tumble dry: low heat

- Iron, steam or dry: medium heat

- Do not dryclean