Lacquering crafts that have been familiar to peoples’ lives since ancient times. In China, techniques such as “Raden,” in which shells are fitted, “Tsukushu,” in which lacquer is applied and carved, and “Zonsei,” in which patterns are represented by colored…
The act of “carrying” is indispensable in our daily lives. In the Edo period, there were various transportation systems using people, horses, and ships. Edo was a city of water, surrounded by waterfronts such as Edo Bay and the Sumida River,…
It was a maki-e lacquerware purchase that suddenly placed Nezu Kaichirō, Sr., in the limelight as a collector. He had long yearned to own Writing Box, known as Hana no Shirakawa, a famous Muromachi period (1392-1568) maki-e work. When it was being auctioned off…
Feature image: Katsushika Hokusai “Chin (Japanese spaniel)” (2nd term) Various animals appear in ukiyo-e. In addition to pets such as cats and dogs, and domestic animals such as horses and cows, those believed to be good omens, such as cranes and…
Throughout the Edo period the newly wealthy merchant classes came to indulge in the more hedonistic joys of kabuki theater, Geisha and pleasure districts. Ukiyo-e came to document this period of Japan’s history through block prints and paintings, literally translated…
Like a samurai warlord proclaiming a new era after his conquest, the artist Hasegawa Tohaku proclaimed a new era with his brush. Tohaku’s ink painting “Pine Trees” is an enchanting masterpiece that remains shrouded in mystery. Tohaku’s enchanting work, which…
Art Nouveau (French for “new art”) flourished in Europe from the end of the 19th to the beginning of the 20th century. Japanese art was a formative influence on the style. While on the one hand a cutting-edge art movement,…
Tokyo Art Studio, a gallery in the heart of Minami Azabu, proudly presents their second group exhibition featuring the work of artists with strong roots in Japan. Featuring 70 artworks by 9 emerging and established artists, the exhibition runs from…
Celebrating ukiyo-e artist Katsushika Hokusai’s 260 birthday, a complete out-of-this-world Hokusai art exhibition will be held this summer. The complete “Hokusai Manga” or Hokusai Sketches collection and “Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji” print series will be displayed. Another portion of…
Ota Memorial Museum of Art presents Kaburaki Kiyokata (1878-1972) and Hirezaki Eiho (1881-1968)’s masterpieces of kuchi-e (illustrations for magazines and novels) prints of beautiful women from the Meiji Era. Both are well-known Japanese art painters and specialized as kuchi-e artists…
