Brian Page Antiques Brighton Chinese Japanese Antiques & Antiquities. All images on one page – no multiple clicking or pop-ups! Scroll down to view. If you have any questions, please ask. A Rare Japanese Woodblock Egoyomi Calendar Print Ca. 7 3/8 x 4 ins. (18.8 x 10.2 cms) Up until 1873 when the Western calendar was adopted the Japanese calendar was based on the Lunar system in which every year the order of long and short months was determined by the Government. Consequently, as the order of long and short varied from year to year, an annual calendar was needed. The publishers of these calendars had to be licensed by the government. Whereas many was straight forward lists it became the fashion to hide the list of months in the design, sometimes in an obvious way but often in a cunning and well hidden manner. These prints are known as egoyomi and as they were out of date after 12 months they were regarded as disposable and most no longer survive. In the present example the numerals are on the hilts and tsuba of the daisho pair of swords which are displayed in their corded silk wrappings alongside a black lacquer storage box. The print is rather worn and surface soiled. It has a light backing with the remains of mounting tape. There is an illegible signature at the right hand corner. It is quite possible that the print is the sole survivor of this design but impossible to prove. PLEASE INSPECT PHOTOS CAREFULLY. PLEASE NOTE THIS IS AN ORIGINAL PRINTING NOT A FACSIMILE OR REPRINT. PLEASE SCROLL DOWN TO SEE ALL PHOTOGRAPHS. Packing Materials: although we re-use as much packing material as possible, we may make a charge for any new materials used. Any such charge will not be greater than our cost price. Personal cheque (known UK customers). Bank / wire transfer (international customers). If choosing to pay by this method. We guarantee each item to be from the period as described. Our guarantee has no time limit. We do not sell for other dealers, we sell only our own stock. Nowadays many sellers, especially internet sellers, show items for sale not belonging to them, either because they have no actual stock of their own or they are advertising items, often of unknown origin, for clients on a commission basis. Such sellers often have very limited, highly conditional, or non-existent guarantees. With 45 years experience of Asian Art & Antiques with retail premises here in Brighton and a worldwide reputation second to none, we are pleased to offer our customers our guarantee without time limit. A genuine antique is, of course, genuine for all time and not just for seven, fourteen or thirty days and so sellers not offering such a guarantee as ours should possibly be avoided. If you wish to use our pictures and/or text please ask! The item “Rare Japanese Woodblock Egoyomi Surimono Calendar Print. Ca. 1810″ is in sale since Tuesday, March 07, 2017. This item is in the category “Antiques\Asian/Oriental Antiques\Japanese\Prints”. The seller is “yakimono” and is located in Brighton. This item can be shipped worldwide.