Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on November 2010

Katsushika Hokusai, In Front of Tsutaya, from Picture Book: Amusements of Edo, 1802. Collection of the Tobacco & Salt Museum

Looking at the great ukiyo-e prints of the Edo era on museum walls, we often forget that they were originally published in books. The Suntory Museum of Art’s latest exhibition puts ukiyo-e in context as the manga of its day. Tsutaya Juzaburo used his success as a publisher of mass titles, such as a guide to the Yoshiwara pleasure quarters, to further the careers of then-unknown artists like Kitagawa Utamaro and Toshusai Sharaku, who are now famed for their sumptuous depictions of 18th century Edo life. Not merely a patron of guide and art books, he also published satirical works that angered the authorities, and was fined half of his fortune in 1791 as a result.

Suntory Museum of Art
Tsutaya Juzaburo: Publisher Who Discovered Utamaro and Sharaku. Nihonga. Until Dec 19, free (MS and under)/¥1,000 (HS, univ)/¥1,300 (adult). 9-7-4 Akasaka, Minato-ku. Tel: 03-3479-8600. Open Wed-Sat 10am-8pm, Sun-Mon & hols 10am-6pm, closed Tue. Nearest stn: Roppongi. www.suntory.com/culture-sports/sma