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RyukyuDragon Head Drawing by Meizo Shimoji
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This is a drawing of the head of the female pillar dragon from Shuri Castle. It is signed by Meizo Shimoji who was the artist for Scott 11 which features a similar dragon head. The plate measures 151 mm (wide) x 206 mm (tall). The plate is medium thick (.01145 in - 0.29 mm) card stock. The drawing covers approximately 75% of the plate. The front of the plate has a light gloss and the back is dull and flat. I am not sure if this is an original pen and brush drawing or a photographic reproduction. When you hold the plate up to a light and look across the surface, the larger dark areas look like they were applied by a brush.
The RPSS catalogue notes similar items in these terms.
Original Design for the 3 yen Stamp SECOND DEFINITIVE SERIES. Design of No. 11 SHIMOJI Meizo's detailed drawing of the female dragon, which stood on the right side of the entranceway into Shuri Castle, is probably the most notable example of Ryukyuan sculpture. The female has its mouth closed. This design is painted on cream colored (faded to tan) silver speckled card stock, measuring 167 x 210mm. It's one of two like renditions of this painting known in the United States. (Page 104, RPSS Catalogue Part IV, Fascicle 1, see Note below). The Shuri Castle complex was destroyed by fire in the early morning hours of October 31, 2019. A newspaper article regarding the event is here. The two dragon pillar statutes that stood at the entrance to the castle remained standing. There were two dragon pillars (poles) at the entrance to the castle. I believe the pillar to the right when facing the castle was the male with his mouth open. I believe the pillar to the left was the female with her mouth closed. The pillar in this drawing is the female and the same dragon pillar used on Ryukyu Scott 11. Since the dragon's head is facing to the left, this rending would have been from the perspective of looking at the pillar facing out from the entrance of the castle. A recent photograph showing the female dragon pillar after the fire can be found on this web page. It appears the dragon pillars survived the fire with little damage. While gender is often ascribed to such statues based upon mouth open or closed (female mouth closed - male mouth open) or vice versa, this varies. Traditionally, when facing a building, you find the male dragon/lion dog placed to the right and the female to the left.
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