Classic Illustrated Books Modern Art and Design Books Translations of Western Texts Japanese Literature Prints and Ephemera Western Books Photo Books Paintings & Scrolls Australia & New Zealand Others
Australia New Zealand Antarctica Japan Korea China Other
Edo Period [1603-1853] Bakumatsu Period [1853-1868] Meiji Period [1868-1912] Taishō Period [1912-1926] Shōwa Period [1926-1989]
Share this book on...
Classic Illustrated Books
| 1 - 50 of 101 : | 1 2 3 |
(Shinpan) Kannin goryō kogane no kotonoha ((Newly published) Profit from perseverance: golden phrases)
(Shinpan) Kannin goryō kogane no kotonoha ["(Newly published) Profit from perseverance: golden phrases"]
[Kyokutei, Bakin (text by); Kitao, Shigemasa (illustrated by)].
[Edo (Tokyo): Tsuruya Kiemon, Kansei 8 (1796)].
The second volume of a comical work about a young man (Zenjirō) and woman (Osechi) who, taking to heart their parents' teachings about pe ...
A Set of Sketchbooks of Seasonal Flowers and Plants
[Ca. Meiji 36 to 44 (1903-1911)]. In manuscript.
A set of four books of skillfully hand-painted flowers and animals, presumed to be by the same, unknown, Japanese artist. Most of the illustrations are captioned with the name of the flower/plant pictured and the date the sketch was made, suggesting that the books were used as ‘sketchbook diaries’ ...
An Adaptation of a Keijo-uta
Edo no Hana Ofude Hansan Shinju Kudoki ["Edo's Flowers Ofude and Hanzan: Oral Recitation of a Double Suicide"]
[Sugioka (illustrated by)?].
Bakuro-chō, [Tōkyō]: Yoshidaya Shōkichi, [ca. late Edo period (1840-60s)?].
A short song in which two lovers from different social strata make a suicide pact, believing their love to be forbidden, but are saved by ...
An unidentified pictorial sutra
[Title illegible]
[Zenpachi (original illustrations by)].
[Ōsaka?: Hiyoshi Nobuhisa?, ca. mid to late Edo period (19th century?)].
Eshingyō, also known as mekurashinkyō, mekurakyō, and hannya eshingyō, are woodblock-printed copies of the Heart Sutra (Hannya Shingyō) produced for illiterate people. The illustrations provide vocal cues to the ...
An unidentified woodblock-printed book of moji-e
[An unidentified woodblock-printed book of moji-e]
[Illustrator unidentified].
[Japan: publisher unidentified, ca. mid Edo period (1680-1780s)?].
An unidentified woodblock-printed book of seventeen moji-e ("character-pictures") featuring animals. The hiragana characters hidden in each illustration also appear next to each figure, providing the name of the ...
An untitled album of woodblock-printed illustrations
[An untitled album of woodblock-printed illustrations]
Taki, Katei, [Fukushima], Chikaharu, [Fukushima], Ryūho, [Shibata], Zeshin, [Satake], Eiko, [Tōdō], Ryōun, Rinsei, Zuika [illustrated by].
[Japan: publisher unidentified, ca. early Meiji period (1860-70s?)].
An untitled album of ten colour woodblockprinted illustrations of plants, flowers, animals, p ...
An untitled Edo period eshingyō
[An untitled Edo period eshingyō]
[Zenpachi (original illustrations by)].
[Japan: publisher unidentified, ca. mid Edo period (18th century?)].
Eshingyō, also known as mekurashinkyō, mekurakyō, and hannya eshingyō, are woodblock-printed copies of the Heart Sutra (Hannya Shingyō) produced for illiterate people. The illustrations provide vocal cues to the ...
An untitled egoyomi tanzaku album
[An untitled egoyomi tanzaku album]
Shimomura, Kanzan, Takeuchi, Seihō, Taniguchi, Kōkyō ... [et al.] [illustrated by].
[Japan: publisher unidentified, ca. Meiji 42 (1909)].
A daishō egoyomi (pictorial calendar) for 1910, featuring twelve poetry-slip (tanzaku) sized leaves, one for each month of the year, illustrated by the artists Shimomura Kanzan (1 ...
Araihari ukiyo moyō (Floating world patterns stretched out to dry)
Araihari ukiyo moyō ["Floating world patterns stretched out to dry"]
Santō, Kyōden [original work by]; Kubota, Beisen [edited by].
Kyōto: Hakuseisha, Meiji 22 [1889].
A collection of 128 textile patterns from Santō Kyōden's Komon shinpō (1786), rearranged and coloured by the artist Kubota Beisen (1852-1906). While the upper wrapper notes t ...
Banshoku tejōchin (Hand-lanterns for all sorts of professions)
[Banshoku tejōchin ("Hand-lanterns for all sorts of professions")]
Sankanjin, Kōrai [text by]; [Ikkōsai, Ikumaru (illustrated by)].
[Tōkyō: Yoshidaya Bunzaburō, ca. late Edo to early Meiji period (1850-70s?)].
A guidebook to a special calligraphic style which emerged in the late Edo period for use in advertisements, especially those handpainted on lantern ...
Bikō Zukan
Hasegawa, Keika [illustrated by].
Ōsaka : Aoki Tsunesaburō, Meiji 27 [1894]. First and only known edition.
A two-volume album of colour woodblock-printed designs by acclaimed artist Hasegawa Keika. Each volume contains 50 designs, two to a page, featuring motifs of flowers, plants, fans, birds, rivers, ships, shells, flags, and so on. The patter ...
Bugaku Zukan
[Ca. late Edo period (early to mid-1800s)]. Manuscript.
“Alongside the closely-allied music practice of gagaku, the establishment of the bugaku tradition during the Nara (710-794) and Heian (794-1185) periods reflected a growing interest in cultural and religious practices outside Japan and became part of the Japanese imperial court's broad ...
Bunmei kaika tōke hyakunin isshu [The advance of civilisation: child's play, one hundred poems by one hundred poets]
Bunmei kaika tōke hyakunin isshu ["The advance of civilisation: child's play, one hundred poems by one hundred poets"]
Fusō, Kan [with selections by]; Seisei [Kawanabe], Kyōsai [illustrated by].
Shinsaibashi, [Ōsaka]: Itamiya Zenbē ... [and 12 others], [Meiji 6 (1873)].
A comical anthology of one hundred poems and illustrations on the social and techno ...
Bunsen gafu (Bunsen's painting manual)
Bunsen gafu ["Bunsen's painting manual"]
Seki, Bunsen [illustrated by].
[Ōsaka]: Kawachiya Kihē, Ansei 2 [1855].
The nihen (second selection) of Seki Bunsen's painting manual, featuring illustrations of landscapes, people, mythological figures, birds and flowers. This copy has been woodblock-printed in more subdued tones than other Meiji ...
Chiri Shohō
Tōkyō : Monbushō, Meiji 6 [1873].
A Meiji-period illustrated textbook on geography compiled by the government. Books such as these were used after the opening of Japan to trade in the Meiji period to introduce scientific information from overseas to the Japanese population. Woodblock-printed, with several illustrations, including one in colour of a world map.
...
Chiyo-shibori (Decorative tie-dyeing (patterns))
Chiyo-shibori ["Decorative tie-dyeing (patterns)"]
Seshimo Gofukuten [produced by].
Uji, [Kyōto Prefecture]: Seshimo Gofukuten, Seisen 5 [1941].
An unrecorded sample book of ten tie-dye designs for autumn and winter, produced in Seisen 5 ("the fifth year of the holy war") by the clothing store Seshimo (or Raika) Gofukuten. The editor notes in the preface t ...
Circular hand-painted motifs
[An album of circular motifs]
[Artist unidentified].
[Japan, ca. early to mid-Meiji period (1860-90s)?]. Manuscript.
A hand-painted album of fifteen circular floral designs by an unidentified artist. Each motif is captioned with the name of the flower or plant depicted. The illustrations were originally painted on a scroll, which has been bound concertina- ...
Compilation of People from Overseas
"海外人物輯"
Nagata, Nankei [text by]; Ikkōsai [Utagawa, Yoshimori] [illustrations by].
[Japan: publisher unidentified, preface dated Kaei 7 (1854)].
An album of people and traditional clothing from 42 countries around the world, with brief descriptions of the customs and geography of each country. The set was published as a revised edition of Nishikawa Jo ...
Counting Songs of Benten Kozō
"弁天小僧かぞへうた"
[Kimata, Asakichi? (text by); Kawatake, Mokuami (original play written by)].
Okazaki, [Aichi]: Kimata Asakichi, Meiji 29 [1896].
A collection of twenty kazoeuta (counting songs or poems), each with three lines, based on the tale of the young thief Benten Kozō Kikunosuke from the kabuki play Aotozōshi Hana no Nishikie ("The Glorious Pictur ...
Designs inspired by butterfly wings, by Shimomura Gyokukō
Kochōshiki ["Expressions of butterflies"]
Shimomura, Gyokukō [Tamahiro] [illustrated by].
Kyōto: Honda Ichijirō; Gōmei Gaisha Unsōdō, Meiji 45 [1912].
An album of designs inspired by butterfly wings, featuring two beautiful woodblock-printed illustrations and 68 monochrome collotype illustrations. The designs were created by Shimomura Gyokukō (also known a ...
Dodoitsu zue (Illustrated love poems)
Dodoitsu zue ["Illustrated love poems"]
Kōseisha, Sakumaru [selections by]; Ikkōsai [Utagawa], Yoshimori [illustrated by].
[Japan: publisher/s unidentified, preface dated Man'en gannen (1860)].
Five volumes of dodoitsu (poems that are often humorous and typically about love) illustrated by Yoshimori (1830–1884), bound in one. It may be the case that Kōseisha Sak ...
Dōka kokoro no sugatami (Moral poems: mirror of the soul)
Dōka kokoro no sugatami ["Moral poems: mirror of the soul"]
Kasetsu Dōnin [Sangoen], Tsukimaro [text by]; Hori, Genpo [illustrated by].
[Kyōto]: Ryūshiken, Kōbuntei, Kōshōkan, [preface dated Kaei 2 (1849)].
A collection of dōka (didactic poems presenting lessons on life through a Buddhist lens) presented by Sangoen Tsukimaro (Hori Genpo), released ab ...
Dōka kokoro no utsushi-e (Moral poems: reflections of the soul)
Dōka kokoro no utsushi-e ["Moral poems: reflections of the soul"]
[Sangoen, Tsukimaro (text by); Hori, Genpo (illustrated by)].
[Japan: publisher unidentified, preface dated Bunsei 10 (1827)].
A collection of dōka (didactic poems presenting lessons on life through a Buddhist lens) and illustrations mainly based on the Japanese and Chinese character f ...
Ehon Kinsei Nihon Nenkei
Tsuchiya, Ikunosuke [Sudō, Nansui] [edited by]; Ichiōsai [Utagawa], Kunimatsu [illustrated by].
Tōkyō : Shimizu Kahē, [publishing permission received in Meiji 16 (1883)]. First edition.
A charming accordion-folding chronology of important events in Japan from 1844 to 1882, highly illustrated with delicate copperplate-engraved vignettes. The delightful little work ...
Ehon tatsu no miyako (Picture book of the dragon`s capital)
[Ehon tatsu no miyako ("Picture book of the dragon's capital")]
[Saitō, Senzan (illustrated by)].
[Japan: publisher unidentified, ca. Meiwa period to An'ei period (1760-70s)?].
An early children's book on the Japanese version of the "Heart of the Monkey" legend, set in the underwater world of Princess Oto of the Dragon Palace. It seems that thi ...
Esagashi taizenshū: kyōiku moji-e (Great compilation of hidden pictures: character-pictures for education)
Esagashi taizenshū: kyōiku moji-e ["Great compilation of hidden pictures: character-pictures for education"]
[Utagawa, Kunitoshi (illustrated by)].
Tōkyō: Kokkadō, [ca. Meiji 25 (1892)].
A mid-Meiji period compilation of hidden-picture puzzles and moji-e for children. The work is split into two parts: Tōsei sanjūni mensō ("Thirty-two amusing express ...
Evening Tales of Bansui: A Clarification of Misunderstandings in Theories about the Dutch
Ōtsuki, Bansui [Gentaku] [dictated by]; Arima, Genchō [text by]; Koshimura, Shikyo [proofread by].
[Seishū, Anatsu Higashi-machi: Yamagataya Tōsuke, Kansei 11 (1799)?].
The record of a dialogue between famous Dutch studies scholar Ōtsuki Gentaku (1757-1827) and student Arima on fifty topics relating to the Dutch, including food, wine, tobacco, glass utensils, ele ...
Famous Songs Remixed, Featuring Ahodarakyō
[Title unidentified]
[Author/s unidentified].
[Japan: publisher unidentified, ca. late Edo period (1840-60s?)].
A collection of short stories, probably humorous, presented as vocal recitations. The index lists eight of the ten songs or recitations included in the volume as kae-uta, lyrics to be sung to the melody of a well-known song instead of the song ...
Fist-Songs on the Red-light District
Shinpan Irozato Ken'uta Ukarebushi ["Red-light District Fist-songs, Newly Published"]
[Author/s unidentified].
Ryōgoku, [Tōkyō]: Azumaya Denzō, [ca. late Edo period (1830-50s)?].
Judging from the title and wrapper illustration, the content of this utahon is either humorous or humorous and risqué. According to Matthew Shores in A Critical Study o ...
Furuya Kōrin's design series
[Furuya Kōrin's design series]
Furuya, Kōrin [illustrated by].
Kyōto: Unsōdō, Meiji 38-39 [1905-6].
A set of four books of woodblock-printed designs by the acclaimed Kyoto-based artist Furuya Kōrin (1875–1910). The set includes Date moyō hanazukushi ("Compilation of flamboyant flower patterns", 25 pages of designs), Matsuzukushi ("Compilati ...
Fūryū mongata setsuyō (Elegant crest-shaped cuttings)
Fūryū mongata setsuyō ["Elegant crest-shaped cuttings"]
[Creator unidentified].
[Tōkyō: Zenba Dankyō, Meiji 27 (1894)?].
Four booklets on cutting kamon (crests) from folded paper, bound in one. Monkiri ("crest-cuttings") could be made by cutting out a desired template from issues such as these, laying it on top of a piece of paper which had already been fo ...
Gesaku shisho Kyōden yoshi [Professor Santō's frivolous four books]
Gesaku shisho Kyōden yoshi ["Professor Santō's frivolous four books"]
Santō, Kyōden [text by]].
Kyōbashi, [Tōkyō]: Suzuki Kinjirō, Meiji 18 [1885].
A Meiji edition of Santō Kyōden's comedic adaptation of the classical Chinese Four Books, illustrated with five full-page and two double-page images. The text is a parody by Santō Kyōden of Ke ...
Gibun kihan: haikan hikkei (Examples of humorous writing: an essential manual of folk rumours)
Gibun kihan: haikan hikkei ["Examples of humorous writing: an essential manual of folk rumours"]
Okamoto, Takejirō [edited by]; Suita, Dōshi [inspected by]; [Tsukioka], Yoshitoshi [illustrated by].
Tōkyō: Katō Shōshichi, Meiji 16 [1883].
A collection of around eighty examples of humorous advertisements for restaurants, shops, and various products ...
Hand-painted inrō designs
[A manuscript album of designs for inrō and other objects]
[Artist unidentified].
[Japan, ca. late Edo period (1830-50s?)]. Manuscript.
A collection of over ninety delicately hand-painted designs for inrō (small containers for tobacco and medicine hung on the belt), menuki (metal fittings for sword hilts), tsuba (hand guards for swords), and other metal, i ...
Hauta Songs Illustrated by Kunimaro
Shinpan Hauta Yosebon ["A Storyteller's Book of Hauta Songs, Newly Published"]
[Sanyūtei, Enba (text by)?]; Ichiensai [Utagawa], Kunimaro [illustrated by].
[Tōkyō: publisher unidentified, ca. late Edo period (1840s?)].
A collection of short poems on love, illustrated by Kunimaro. The hauta poems or songs are presented as quotations from courtesans and ...
Heiwa no hana: shinsaku (Flowers of peace: a new work)
Heiwa no hana: shinsaku ["Flowers of peace: a new work"]
Ōyagi, Shungyō [edited by].
Kyōto: Unsōdō, Taishō 9 [1920].
A scarce Unsōdō publication filled with innovative patterns for textiles in collotype. The book was prefaced and edited by the little-known artist Shungyō, who produced at least five other works in the late Meiji to Taishō period with Unsōd ...
Hōgaku kyōka kōkyōshū (The sun collection of donated kyōka)
Hōgaku kyōka kōkyōshū ["The sun collection of donated kyōka"]
Garyōen, Umemaro [selections by]; Go [Totoya], Hokkei, Aoigaoka, Keisei [illustrated by].
[Edo (Tōkyō)?]: Shunyūtei, Bunsei 13 [1830].
A compilation of kyōka by various poets selected (or judged) by Garyōen Umemaro (1793-1859?), illustrated with a frontispiece by Totoya Hokkei ...
Hōkyū gafu (Hōkyū's sketchbook)
Hōkyū gafu ["Hōkyū's sketchbook"]
Hōkyū, Gakei [illustrated by]; Kakumei, [Takeuchi?] [preface by].
[Japan, preface dated Mizunotoushi (Kaei 6 (1853) or Taishō 2 (1913))]. Manuscript.
A hand-painted album of nanga-style illustrations by Hōkyū (or Kataoka) Gakei, about whom no information was traced online. The album contains 16 double-page and 3 ...
Humorous Phrases
Shinpan Ji-amari Shinmonku ["New Ji-amari Phrases, Newly Published"]
[Author/s unidentified].
Iigura Shinmachi, [Tōkyō]: Fukudaya Kichigorō, [ca. Bunka 7 (1810)?].
Two issues of humorous phrases or jokes, bound in one. In Japanese poetry, ji-amari refers to compositions in which the typical number of syllables is exceeded. The word monku has an unfortunat ...
Inpu (Book of seals)
Inpu ["Book of seals"]
[Artist illegible].
[Japan, Meiji 23-24 (1890-91)]. Manuscript.
A manuscript of over one hundred tippedin designs for company and product label seals. The first 48 illustrations are for basic designs, probably to be shown to customers as a catalogue. The designs that follow feature the names of stores and products (such as souvenirs ...
Ishō sekai (World of designs)
Ishō Sekai ["World of designs"]
[Sawa], Kyūkō ... [et al.] [illustrated by]; Watanabe, Takijirō [woodblocks cut by].
Tōkyō: Seibikai, Meiji 34 [1901].
Issue 5 of the magazine Ishō Sekai, published by the Seibikai ("The Exquisite Beauty Association"). The eighteen textile designs included were provided by members of the Seibikai, and the woodblocks we ...
Japan's most famous beauty bible
Miyako fūzoku kewaiden ["Cosmetic customs of the capital"]
Sayama, Hanshichimaru [text by]; Hayami, Shungyōsai [illustrated by].
[Japan: publisher unidentified, preface dated Bunka 10 (1813)].
A complete set of Japan's most famous beauty manual, featuring tips on makeup, grooming, haircare, hairstyles, skincare, fashion, hygiene, gait, posture, and ot ...
Jūjun kagetsuchō (One-hundred-day album of flowers and the moon)
Jūjun kagetsuchō ["One-hundred-day album of flowers and the moon"]
Mutō, Inazō [edited by]; Rai, Kyōhei [compiled by]; Aoki, Mokubei, Oda, Kaisen, Uragami, Shunkin, Rai, Sanyō, Ema, Saikō, Nakabayashi, Chikutō, Ōkura, Ryuzan, Yoshida, Shūran, Nukina, Kaioku ... [et al.] [with contributions by].
Ōsaka: Shikada Seishichi, Shunsōdō [printing blocks owned by], Meiji ...
Kanamegusa (Vital grasses)
Kanamegusa ["Vital grasses"]
Harada, Fumito [created by].
Tōkyō: Kumagai Daijirō, Meiji 19 [1896].
The only known issue of Kanamegusa, a little-known magazine featuring beautiful colour woodblock-printed illustrations in a Nihonga style of birds, fish, flowers, plants, people, and landscapes. The preface suggests that the illustrations, which are spread ov ...
Kingyoku shinseki: San'yō, Shōzan, Tōko (Precious true autographs of San'yō, Shōzan, and Tōko)
Kingyoku shinseki: San'yō, Shōzan, Tōko ["Precious true autographs of San'yō, Shōzan, and Tōko"]
Shikano, Shirō [edited by]; Yamamoto, Yoshitoshi [biographies by].
Tōkyō: Ryōzan Shokakuzō; Shikano Shirō, Meiji 13 [1880].
An album of woodblock-printed examples of the handwriting and name seals of the artist and poet Rai San'yō (1780-1 ...
Kintaichō (A gathering of brocade bags)
Kintaichō ["A gathering of brocade bags"]
Shimomura, Gyokukō [Tamahiro] [illustrated by].
Kyōto: Honda Ichijirō; Gōmei Gaisha Unsōdō, Taishō 10 [1921].
An album of designs for pouches made from brocade fabrics. Such pouches, shifuku, were used in the tea ceremony for tea containers, tea bowls, and other utensils. The colourful pouches were designed by Shim ...
Kokkei manga (Humorous sketches)
Kokkei manga ["Humorous sketches"]
Akatsuki, Kanenari [preface by]; [Santō, Kyōden (illustrated by)].
Ōsaka: Shioya Kisuke, Bunsei 6 [1823].
A re-carved, re-titled, and re-arranged edition of Santō Kyōden's Komon gawa (1790) featuring a new frontispiece and fifteen additional illustrations. Akatsuki no Kanenari I (1793-1860), the artist/author who w ...
Kokkei zuan (Humorous designs)
Kokkei zuan ["Humorous designs"]
Kamisaka, Sekka [illustrated by].
Kyōto: Yamada Naosaburō, Yamada Unsōdō, Meiji 36 [1903].
An album of amusing patterns and illustrations by the famous designer and Neo-Rinpa artist Kamisaka Sekka (1866–1942). Kokkei zuan was published two years after Sekka was sent by the Japanese government to Glasgow as part ...
Kyō saishiki (Colours of the capital)
Kyō saishiki ["Colours of the capital"]
Yamada, Kōun [frontispiece illustrated by], Yamaguchi, Sōsai [wrappers and one illustration designed by], Satō, Shiun, Tabata, Seikō, Tabata, Shiaki [Kihachi III], Kitano, Kashō, Konishi, Akiyama, Inada, Kakō, Rinshun, Takahashi, Tōsen [illustrated by].
Kyōto: Saiyūkai, Kyō Saishiki Hakkōjo, Meiji 41 [1908].
T ...
Kyōiku gakei moji-e (Character-picture shapes for education)
Kyōiku gakei moji-e ["Character-picture shapes for education"]
Utagawa, Kunitoshi, [Katsushika, Hokusai?] [illustrated by].
Shitaya, [Tōkyō]: Yamazaki Gyōzaburō, Kokkadō, Meiji 25 [1892].
A book of moji-e ("character-picture") amusements for children. Moji-e are illustrations that feature Japanese characters (typically hiragana) 'hidden' in the li ...
| 1 - 50 of 101 : | 123 |
Classic Illustrated Books Modern Art and Design Books Translations of Western Texts Japanese Literature Prints and Ephemera Western Books Photo Books Paintings & Scrolls Australia & New Zealand Others
Australia New Zealand Antarctica Japan Korea China Other
Edo Period [1603-1853] Bakumatsu Period [1853-1868] Meiji Period [1868-1912] Taishō Period [1912-1926] Shōwa Period [1926-1989]
Share this book on...
