On view through October 4, 2026
The Artistry and Reunion of Two Surimono Albums
Presented by RISD Museum with Funding from the IFPDA Foundation
Nearly 200 years ago in Osaka, Japan, the poet Iga Kurimi (意雅栗三) gathered his collection of exquisite woodblock prints and mounted them into two accordion-style albums. Combining images and poetry, these surimono (literally “printed things”) were inked with rich colors on the finest paper and embellished with raised designs and metallic pigments to create a multisensorial experience. Poetic inscriptions on these prints provide additional layers of enjoyment. This exhibition explores some of the many stories these special prints tell, offering us a window into Japan’s art and literary scene of the 1800s.
In 1863, a young American geologist named Raphael Pumpelly received Kurimi’s albums as a farewell gift from Japanese friends. The albums were passed down the Pumpelly family. One album, now unbound as individual prints, made its way to the RISD Museum in the 1950s. The other album, still intact, now resides in the collection of the Chiba City Museum of Art in Japan. This exhibition reunites these two extraordinary sets of prints, highlighting the unique contexts in which they were commissioned, created, and shared.
Curated by Wai Yee Chiong, E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Curator of East Asian Art, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, and former curator of Asian art, RISD Museum
View the exhibition materials online
Supporting sponsors:
The Artistry and Reunion of Two Surimono Albums is sponsored by Bank of America. The exhibition is also supported by grants from E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation and the Japan Foundation, with additional program support provided by the IFPDA Foundation and the Felicia Fund.
RISD Museum is supported by a grant from the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, through an appropriation by the Rhode Island General Assembly and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, and with the generous partnership of the Rhode Island School of Design, its Board of Trustees, and Museum Governors.