A vintage Shikishi card features a traditional Japanese ink and watercolor illustration of a humble figure walking by the sea.The figure in the Shikishi artwork is a farmer, depicted in a traditional and rustic style. The watercolor brushstrokes show a man walking barefoot, dressed in a light blue kimono and wearing a straw waist wrap (a mino or waraji-style straw belt), and carrying a long wooden pole over his shoulder. This kind of scene evokes the image of an everyday rural worker in historical Japan.
The minimalistic background and the walking posture suggest he may be traveling across a rice field or returning from labor. The style is charmingly nostalgic, celebrating the simple, enduring life of Japan’s agricultural past.
Farmers are often associated with qualities such as diligence, patience, and humility. Their labor is physically demanding, requiring long hours and perseverance through unpredictable weather and seasons. Yet, within this toil lies a quiet nobility. In rural life, the farmer embodies an ideal of honest work, self-sufficiency, and a life led in harmony with the earth. These values are often romanticized in literature and art, where the image of the farmer evokes not only rustic simplicity but also a certain spiritual contentment.
