Hiroshige, Andō ... [et al.] [illustrated by].

[Japan : publisher not identified, ca. 1920-40s].

A collection of seven colour woodblock-printed chirimen-e (crêpe-paper illustrations) printed in the Taishō to early Shōwa period, possibly earlier. The collection includes two large reproduced illustrations from Hiroshige's ‘Fifty-t ...

Ca. late Taishō to early Shōwa period [1920-40s].

A collection of beautiful stencils for dyeing patterns onto ‘happi’ [traditional Japanese straight-sleeved coats] and/or ‘haori’ [formal coats]. Most of the stencils feature ‘kamon’ [circular family crests], and would have been used for the back panel of such coa ...

[Ca. 1923-1930].

A collection of two letters and two postcards from Edmund Blunden to English bookseller J.S. Billingham, along with four postcards from Blunden's Japanese students to the same bookseller, and two blank postcards sent to Billingham by Blunden. Blunden was the Professor of English at the University of Tokyo from 1924 to 1927, and the letters and postcar ...

亜墨利加國蒸氣車往来 [Amerika-koku Jōkisha Ōrai, “The Transit of an American Steam Locomotive”]

Issen [Utagawa], Yoshikazu [illustrated by].

[Tōkyō: Maruya Jinpachi, Bunkyū Gannen (1861)].

This eye-catching triptych of an American "steam train" is believed to be based on an image of the Japanese embassy arriving in 1860 in Wash ...

青物魚軍勢大合戦之図 [Aomono Sakana Gunzei Ō-kassen no Zu, "Illustration of the Epic Battle of the Vegetable and Fish Armies"]

Utagawa, Hirokage [illustrated by].

Yokoyamachō, [Tōkyō]: Tsujiokaya [Bunsuke (Kinshōdō)], [Ansei 6 (1859)].

An army of fruit and vegetable soldiers clash with fish and crustacean troops on a beach in this cap ...

[Nara : Kōfukuji?, ca. Kamakura period (1185–1333)?].

A cutting presumed to have been taken from a Kamakura period Kasuga edition of the Dai Hannya-kyō (or Dai-Hannya Haramitta-kyō (Great Perfection of Wisdom Sutra)). The ex-owner has added a tipped-in description reading simply “Kamakura Period, Cutting from a Kasuga Edition of the Dai Han ...

福引口訛絵 [Fukubiki Kuchinamari-e, “A Lottery Illustration of Provincialisms”]

Tsukamoto, Sutesaburō [printed by].

Nagoya, Aichi: Tsukamoto Sutesaburō, [ca. Meiji 37 (1904)].

This print depicting famous figures of the early 1900s may have been used as a paper "board" game for gambling. The illustration uses a bright red pigment cha ...

Nan'yō Keizai Kenkyūjo.

Tōkyō : Nan'yō Keizai Kenkyūjo, Shōwa 19 [1944].

A booklet in Japanese listing famous Australians and Australian residents, including convicts, explorers, artists, Royal Navy officers, geographers, and naturalists. The figures included are, in order, William Dampier, S ...

本朝振袖之始 素盞烏尊妖怪降伏之圖 [Honchō Furisode no Hajime: Susanoo-no-Mikoto Yōkai Gōbuku no Zu, “Susanoo no Mikoto Subdues the Yōkai in Honchō Furisode no Hajime”]

Edogawa [Katsushika], Hokki [illustrated by].

[Japan: unidentified publisher, ca. Kaei 4 (1851)].

A yoko-ōban nishiki-e by Katsushika Hokki (years of birth and deat ...

[百人一首歌留多
(Hyakunin Isshu Karuta, “Cards of One Hundred Poems by One Hundred Poets”)]

[Keisai, Eisen (illustrated by)].

[Tōkyō]: Shiba Senichi, [ca. 1850-60s].

A complete set of two hundred uncut hyakunin isshu cards (one hundred poem cards and one hundred poet cards) in eight leaves. The publisher and printer was Shiba Senichi (芝泉市 ...

Mizushima, Kōyō (Isaiah) [edited by].

Tōkyō : Seikyō Honkai Henshūjo, Meiji 39 [1906]. First edition.

A document printed to commemorate a celebration by the congregation of the Japanese Orthodox Church for the 25th anniversary of Bishop Nikolai Kasatkin (1836–1912) and his elevation to Archbishop of All Japan by t ...

[Katsushika?], Masahisa [illustrated by].

Tōkyō : [publisher illegible], Meiji 15 [1882].

An engrossing triptych featuring over three hundred famous people engaged in bouts of kubihiki. Kubihiki was a Japanese game in which a looped string was placed around the necks of two people and a trial of strength would ensue. In this work, celebrities, almost all ...

木曽路之山川
[Kisoji no Yamakawa, “Mountain River on the Kiso Road”]

[Utagawa], Hiroshige I [illustrated by].

[Japan: unidentified publisher, ca. early to mid-20th century].

A set of three unused postcards delicately woodblock-printed with Hiroshige's famous illustration of the snowy Kiso Valley. Originally printed in 1857, Mountain River on the ...

[Illustrator not identified].

[Japan : Sanden Denki Shōkai, ca. late Meiji period (1903-1907)].

A lithographically printed advertisement for Dr. Sanden's ‘Herculex’ electric belt, a device supposed to give vitality and restorative powers to those who wore it. The Sanden Electric Company, founded by Albert T. Sanden in America in 1885, opened i ...

[Yanagawa, Shunsan].

Tōkyō : Yamatoya Kihē, [ca. Meiji 2 (1869)].

A woodblock-printed booklet published to help Japanese readers understand ‘western time’ and the reading of western clock faces. The change in Japan from the old lunar calendar to the Gregorian calendar was made in November of Meiji 5 (1872), and this accordion-folding boo ...

Kobayashi, Eijirō [Ikuhide].

Bakurochō, [Tōkyō] : Higuchi Gintarō, Meiji 14 [1881].

A woodblock-printed omocha-e (toy print) featuring a mixture of silhouettes of people, monsters, and spirits. There are 47 silhouettes in total, including those of two rokurokubi (monsters with long necks), a kasa-obake (umbrella spirit), a monster whose oi ...

新板おもちやづくし [Shinpan Omocha-Zukushi, “A Newly Printed Assortment of Toys”]

Kamiyama, Seishichi [illustrated by].

Shintomichō, [Tōkyō]: Kamiyama Seishichi, Meiji 17 [1884].

An omocha-e toy print featuring an assortment of tiny games, probably for children to cut out and play (or pretend to play) with. The games include a "Fifty-Th ...

[Illustrator not identified].

[Tōkyō : Tsujikame-ban, ca. early to mid Meiji period (1875-1895)].

An utsushi-e (projection picture) of 53 silhouettes of people and animals. People in varying professions are pictured, including a jinrikisha (cart-puller), a samurai, and a walking salesman. Children and a variety of animals are also featured, as is a woman ...

通俗伊蘇普物語 第八号部圖 [Tsūzoku Isoppu Monogatari, Dai Hachi-gō-bu-zu, “Aesop's Fables: Illustration of Number Eight”]

Yamamoto, Ryūdō [illustrated by].

Kanda, [Tōkyō]: Takekawa Seikichi, Meiji 10 [1877].

An unrecorded triptych by Yamamoto Ryūdō (1845-1913), a pupil of Kawanabe Kyōsai (1831-1889), o ...

[Creator not identified].

Kyōbashi, [Tōkyō] : Yabuya Kawashima Fusumagamiten, Taishō 15 [1926].

A catalogue of 26 Canadian wallpaper samples published by Yabuya Kawashima Fusumagamiten, a company predominantly known for selling fusuma (Japanese sliding screen) papers. A number is printed on the verso of each decorative sample, and a price list ...

[London] : Ye Sette, 1892. 

The menu of the ‘Japanese Night’ dinner held in 1892 by members of Ye Sette of Odd Volumes (an English club of bibliophiles founded by bookdealer Bernard Quaritch in 1878) and attended by many members of the Japan Society. The night is known to have been attended by, amongst others, Narinori Okoshi, Cap ...

[A Sugoroku Game Featuring Various Animals]

Kokunimasa [illustrated by].

Tōkyō: Fukuda Kumajirō, Meiji 27 [1894].

A paper sugoroku game illustrated with various animals, by Kokunimasa. Kokunimasa was almost certainly Utagawa Kunimasa V (years of birth and death undetermined), who used the name Baidō Kokunimasa between 1889 and 1896. ...