Researched articles providing information and resources for Japanese woodblock practitioners, collectors and culture enthusiasts. Use the categories list on the right to find related articles or browse the articles below.
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The Japanese Folding Fan
While the origin of many cultural traditions in Japan can be traced back to China, the folding fan is a uniquely Japanese development that later spread to other parts of the world. It is the origin of the Victorian folding fan, loaded with secret messages and gestures unique to aristocratic courtships, or the feathered fan…
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Featured Artwork
The artist, Yasunari Ikenaga, is best known for his contemporary paintings of an historical Japanese subject: bijin-ga (beautiful women). Scattering Chrysanthemums – Satsuki is a contemporary woodblockprint produced in collaboration with the Adachi Institute who preserve the traditional Ukiyo-e style print workshop. Ikenaga’s work is beautifully translated into the woodblock medium in this work which…
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Visions of Kimono
The word, kimono, means simply ‘the thing worn.’ As a garment it is incredibly simple in design being straight-seamed with wide sleeves. The garment is crossed over at the front (left over right) and fastened with a belt called an obi. Kimono are not tailored to each user, as in Western fashions. If the garment…
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Wrapping Paper
The arrival of Ukiyo-e in the West has a somewhat unexpected history. First, a brief history of Japan’s trade with the West: During the 18th and 19th century Asian porcelain and lacquerware became extremely popular in Europe. Trade with China was already well established, but Japan – under the military rulership of the Tokugawa Shogunate…
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Tattoo and Ukiyo-e
Tattoos in Japan are a subject of contention to this very day. During the Edo period, tattoos were used as a form of punishment for criminals, a way to ostracise them from law-abiding society and mark them permanently as outsiders. Often those convicted had no other options but to pursue a life of crime. This…
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Featured Artwork
Paul Binnie is a Scottish-born artist (1967). His work directly references the work of Ukiyo-e print masters but with a unique, contemporary twist. While his image style references shin-hanga artists of the early 20th century, he is a master craftsman of the complete woodblock process, carving and editioning his prints himself in the sosaku-hanga fashion. …
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Sumi-Fusion Keynote Addresses
The two fabulous Keynote addresses from the International Mokuhanga Conference 2021 in Nara, Japan, are now available for public viewing here. * Henry D. Smith, Professor Emeritus of Japanese History, Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures, Columbia University, New York, gave a fascinating presentation on the Victorian prejudices about the introduction of synthetic dyes into…
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Featured Artwork
Kitao Masayoshi worked as a ukiyo-e artist until he became the official painter to the daimyo of Tsuyama. He then worked in the Kano style using the name Kuwagata Keisai. During his period of activity as an ‘Ukiyo-e’ artist, Kitao Masayoshi produced mainly novelette illustrations. After 1794, however, when he became painter in attendance to…
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Catching up with Kristen McClarty
We featured Kristen McClarty in our June Newsletter after she completed her first Mokuhanga print using locally accessed tools and materials. She is embarking on a much bigger woodcut project that seeks to incorporate Mokuhanga printing into her printmaking practice in new ways. We caught up with her on her process and approach to Mokuhanga…
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Introducing Ryan White
Ryan White describes himself as a “hobbyist/craftsman” and has been drawn to Mokuhanga printing as a way to spend time away from the computer screen. “Because I program computers for a living and spent years in marketing and advertising, I like to fill my spare time with things that are away from screens and need…