Katsukawa Shunshō. The Seven Gods of Good Luck in the Treasure Ship / Hashira-e, c. 1780.

Artist: Attributed to Katsukawa Shunshō [勝川 春章] (Japanese, 1726–1792)
Signed: Unsigned
Publisher: 芝上村板 (Shiba Uemura han)
Date: c. 1780
Media: Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper; Hashira-e (pillar print) 62.5 × 11 cm (24.6 × 4.3 inches)

Title: The Seven Gods of Good Luck in the Treasure Ship (Shichifukujin Takarabune ni noru zu, 七福神宝船に乗る図)

Description:
The Seven Gods of Good Luck (Shichifukujin, 七福神) are shown aboard the takarabune (宝船), the Treasure Ship, sailing across stylized waves at the New Year. A red-crowned crane (鶴, tsuru) with phoenix-like qualities soars above, symbolizing longevity and auspicious fortune. Each deity is rendered with their distinctive attributes: Daikokuten (大黒天) with his mallet, Ebisu (恵比寿) cradling a sea bream (tai, 鯛), Benzaiten (弁財天) holding a lute, Fukurokuju (福禄寿) with his elongated forehead, Hotei (布袋) carrying a cloth sack, Jurōjin (寿老人) with scroll and staff, and Bishamonten (毘沙門天) in warrior armor bearing a spear.

The ship is loaded with auspicious treasures, including coral, scrolls, and a giant red snapper; a long-tailed turtle (minogame, 蓑亀) swims below — all symbols of prosperity and longevity in the New Year tradition.

The style is strongly aligned with that of Katsukawa Shunshō, though the design does not correspond exactly to any known example in Jacob Pins’s The Japanese Pillar Print. A similar design appears as #565 (p. 223), but this composition is unique and unpublished to date. The publisher’s inscription reads 芝上村板 (Shiba Uemura han), identifying the house as active in Edo during the late 18th to early 19th century.

This impression is rare and remarkably well preserved for a hashira-e of this period.

References:

• Related design: Jacob Pins, The Japanese Pillar Print, #565 / p. 223

• Publisher: Marks, Publishers of Japanese Woodblock Prints, ref. U361 | 25-300: Uemura han

• Also listed under: Emiya Kichiemon (恵美屋吉右衛門, 1688–1835) in Marks