New Year's Celebration

From the Minneapolis Institute of Art record

To illustrate the five poems about New Year's that appear on this print (including one by the artist himself), Ishida Shñhø depicted two children dressed in holiday attire. The red padded coat worn by the girl suggests that they are outside, probably on their way home from a shrine where they prayed for happiness and good health for the coming year. The twig held in the girl's hand is mayudama, a common decoration for New Year's, sold at shrines during the holiday season. Adorned with red and white pieces of glutinous rice, mayudama resembles a flowering branch-a harbinger of spring. The boy carries a purple banner emblazoned with a crest, which will also be used as a New Year's decoration for the house. Without showing their faces, Shñhø's design successfully conveys the tenderness between the two children, probably sister and brother, and the celebratory mood of the season. Japan, Asia