Adachi Hanga is a Tokyo-based, Japanese print institute that publishes Mokuhanga prints produced in accordance with Ukiyo-e print techniques from the Edo period. They have a visual feast of reproduction and contemporary prints for you to see on their website and are featuring an exhibition that charts the use of the colour blue in the Ukiyo-e prints of Hokusai and Hiroshige.
Japan Blue in Ukiyo-e, Hokusai & Hiroshige takes place in their showroom in Tokyo but is available to view online. The show is rich with informative texts that relate the impact of locally made Indigo and the later importing of Prussian Blue upon the artistic outputs of both artists as well as the culture in Japan at the time.
The show is a tribute to Eiichi Shibusawa, an historical figure regaining prominence with the announcement that his portrait will be featured on Japan’s new banknotes in 2024. Eiichi’s family were prominent manufacturers of aidama (indigo leaf balls) used to make aizome (indigo dye).
Katsushika Hokusai. Thirty-six Views of Mt.Fuji: The Lone Fisherman at Kajikazawa