“Bow, Arrows, Target, and Other Outfits for Archery,” from the series Ise Calendars for the Asakusa Group (Asakusa-gawa Ise goyomi) From the Spring Rain Collection (Harusame shū), vol. 2 1804 - 1824

Kubo Shunman created this woodblock print, “Bow, Arrows, Target, and Other Outfits for Archery,” for a calendar series in Japan. The commission came from the Asakusa Group, which was a poetry circle. We see visual codes of wealth and leisure. Archery, which had once been the domain of the samurai class, was becoming an increasingly popular pastime among the merchant classes in Japan. These rising urban classes had time and money to spend on art like this. Note how the print interweaves image with text, an artistic practice with a rich history in Japan, particularly visible in folding screens and calligraphy. Here the poem and the print work together to create a combined message. Understanding art like this requires looking at historical and literary resources, to fully comprehend how the artist is responding to the society around them. The meaning of art is always contingent on its social and institutional context.