# Books and Cards

**Reisai** (Japanese)  
18th–19th century  
Woodblock print (surimono); ink and color on paper  
7 x 6 1/2 in. (17.8 x 16.5 cm)

Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, JP2187. [The museum's record](https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/55103).

## About this work

Reisai designed this in 18th–19th century. It is now at The Met in New York.

### How it was made

- **Surimono.** Privately commissioned Japanese prints, often New Year greetings, made in small runs on thick paper with metallic pigments and blind embossing, and usually paired with poems.
- **Colour woodblock print.** In Japan these were a team effort. The artist drew the design, a carver cut it into cherry-wood blocks, one block for each colour, and a printer brushed on the pigment and rubbed each sheet by hand. Full-colour prints of this kind were called nishiki-e, “brocade pictures”, from the 1760s on.

### [Reisai](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/reisai)

Japanese

## Facts

- Type: Prints
- Culture: Japan
- Real size: about 7 × 6½ in (18 × 17 cm). The original is small: even the 8 × 10 in print shows it larger than life.
- Century: 17th century
- Movement: [Ukiyo-e](https://www.ochreeditions.com/movements/ukiyo-e)
- Subjects: Books
- Colour: white
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/938.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/938/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68; 20 × 30 in $86; 24 × 36 in $108
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164; 20 × 30 in $208; 24 × 36 in $258
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98; 18 × 24 in $118; 20 × 30 in $148
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3; 20 × 30 in $5; 24 × 36 in $5

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/books-and-cards-met-55103).