About This Print

A branch of flowering plum sits in a teapot calligraphed with the word "fuku" 福 (good fortune). 

Originally issued for the 1946 poetry and print book Flowers of Japan: Anthology of Poems [Shikashū: Nihon no Hana], edited by Onchi Kōshirō (1891-1955) and published by Fugaku Honsha in 1946, this print is one of three prints, along with Rose by Kawanishi Hide (1894-1965) and Thistle by Kawakami Sumio (1895-1972), that were pasted into the book.  Other designs were printed directly onto the pages using woodblock. In addition to the four artists who contributed print designs (Kawanishi, Kawakami, Maekawa and Onchi), quite a few poets contributed work including Satō Haruo (1892-1964), Kitahara Hakushū (1885-1942), Noguchi Yonejirō (1875-1947), Kaoru Maruyama (1899-1974), Tatsuji Miyoshi (1900-1964), Ruyko Kawaji (1888-1959), Andō Ichirō (1907-1972), and Onchi. "There are thirty poems on the theme of Japanese flowers, and all are accompanied by a realistic illustration.  Onchi did the illustrations for twelve poems, including that for his own poem entitled Tennanshō (Taro)."¹