[Untitled woodblock print]

[Artist unidentified].

Tōkyō: Shibakawado, [ca. Taishō period (1910-20s)?].

A woodblock-printed leaf featuring two designs for Christmas and New Years’ greeting cards. The cards may have been produced for Japanese people to send to English-speaking friends, or as souvenirs for foreign tourists to send back to friends in the ...

Nihonbashi, Tōkyō, and other locations : Maruya Shōten, Kawashima Shōten ... [et al.], ca. early 1900s.

A collection of six sample booklets containing a total of 128 tipped-in squares of beautiful real Japanese fabrics. These folding booklets would have been shown by scroll-mounters to customers, who would then pick fabrics to be used in the mountings of their scroll ...

Takehisa, Yumeji, and others [illustrations by].

[Japan] : Senow, Symphony ... et al., Taishō to early Shōwa period [1920-30s].

A collection of 47 pieces of sheet music published in Japan in the 1920s and 1930s. Sheet music published during this period in Japan is known for its beautiful Art Nouveau and Art Deco designs, and these examples do n ...

"滑稽 笑袋"

Murata, Tamesaburō [text by].

Tōkyō: Hakkōdō, Meiji 27 [1894].

A woodblock-printed collection of amusing mistakes and misheard words. The compilation, publication of which was certified by the Home Ministry, is almost entirely in katakana.

One leaf, complete. Creases, light foxing, marks, small hole and sticker removal. 24 ...

[Japan, ca. late Edo to early Meiji period (1850-1870s)].

Semon ("back crests"), also known as semamori ("back-protectors" or "back amulets"), were designs sewn into children's kimono to prevent evil spirits from attacking them from behind or to prevent the soul from leaving the body. These two books feature a total of 76 designs hand-sewn through the paper with threa ...

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-three Stations o ...

[Japan: publisher and creator unidentified, ca. early to mid Meiji period (1870-90s)].

A collection of fabric representations (oshi-e (押絵)) of characters from ukiyo-e. The title slips and lines of characters' clothes appear to have been cut out from woodblock-prints and laid onto various pasted-down fabrics to bring the characters to life. Some sections of the figur ...

[Japan, England, ca. 1923-1930]. In manuscript.

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 19 ...

Naimono-zukushi ["A Compilation of Things That Aren't"]

[Author/s unidentified].

[Japan: publisher unidentified, ca. late Edo period (1820-50s?)].

A "collection of things that aren't"; each line of text ends with nai, a negative form of a verb or an auxiliary verb and adjective indicating the lack or non-existence of something. For example, one lin ...

Goshinpatsu Hitotsutose-bushi ["Military Departure: A Hitotsutose Song"]

[Author/s unidentified].

[Japan: publisher unidentified, ca. late Meiji period (1890-1910s?)].

A hitotsutose counting song in twenty verses on a military campaign, possibly printed around the time of the First Sino-Japanese War or the Russo-Japanese War. Hitotsutose was a type of kazo ...

[Fabric Fragment].

[Designer unidentified].

[Japan: manufacturer unidentified, ca. Meiji period (1868-1912)?].

A cutting of fabric embroidered with a bird's-eye image of people dancing on a bridge. The fragmen ...

[Fabric fragment]

[Designer unidentified].

[Japan: manufacturer unidentified, ca. Meiji period (1868-1912)?].

A cutting of fabric embroidered with clouds, pine trees, waves, and foreign ships. The fragment, which ...

[An untitled hand-painted illustration attributed to Kyosai]

Seisei [Kawanabe], Kyōsai [signed by].

[Japan, ca. mid Meiji period (1870-80s)?]. Hand-painted on paper.

A delicately hand-painted illustration attributed to Kyōsai. The scene, possibly alluding to setsubun, is comical, with one figure seemingly mistaking an oni mask resting on the bottom of a sl ...

[A large woodblock used for printing medical advertisements]

[Creator unidentified].

Mino-no-kuni [Gifu]: [manufacturer unidentified, ca. late Edo period (18th to mid-19th century)?].

A large woodblock used around the late Edo period for printing advertisements for taidoku medicine. Taidoku (literally "inherent poison" (i.e. a disease believed to have been ...

[A manuscript report of the death of Uheiji]

Uno, Niemon, Ōwaki, Giuemon ... [et al.] [addressed to].

[Usuki, Bungo Province (current-day Ōita Prefecture)], Kyōhō 11 [1726]. Manuscript.

A document addressed to local officials of the Usuki clan in Bungo Province reporting that Uheiji, the son of Shio (a daughter of "Jirōemon" captured in Kanbun 7 (1667) for ...

[A Meiji era photograph of Japanese police graduating from an English language class]

[Photographer unidentified].

[Japan: studio unidentified], 1906.

A photograph produced during the Meiji era. The handwritten caption reads (in English) "June 28, 1906. Graduating ceremony of English student [sic] of police". Two foreign women and one foreign man are pictu ...

Shujū Gi wo Mamorite Nan wo Manukaru ["A Master and Servant Observe Obedience to Their Duties and a Disaster is Averted"]

Ōju [Mizuno], Toshikata [illustrated by]; [Tominaga], Toshichika [corrected by].

Tōkyō: Tsuji Keiji: Fukyū sha, Meiji 21 [1888]. "Later printing".

Kōfu sake wo tachite issei no kuwauju to naru ["To become a world-famous scholar after renouncing alcohol"]

[Kobayashi], Toshikazu [illustrated by]; [Tominaga], Toshichika [corrected by].

Tōkyō: Tsuji Keiji: Fukyū sha, Meiji 21 [1888]. "Later printing".

&n ...

[Untitled Greeting Card]

[Minister of Communications].

Tōkyō: [Ministry of Communications], 1917.

An illustrated card in French from "Le Ministre des Communications du Japon", wishing the unidentified receiver a H ...

[Kitao, Masayoshi ... (et al.) (illustrated by)].

[Tōkyō]: Sekaidō, [ca. mid-Shōwa period (1930-50s)?].

A collection of four postcards introducing famous places in Tokyo, featuring an illustration of a shop selling ezōshi (illustrated books), nishiki-e (ukiyo-e prints), hanging scrolls, and other items in Asakusa's Nakamise shopping street. ...

Odoke Jitsugokyō: irozato machijū anazukushi, shohen ["A witty Jitsugokyō: all sorts of tales from around the pleasure quarters, first part"]

[Author unidentified].

[Japan: publisher unidentified], Tenpō 2 [1831].

The Jitsugokyō ("Teachings of the words of truth") was a textbook on morality used for learning kanji and kanbun (literary Sinitic) at terakoya ...

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 Washington, D.C., f ...

"亞墨利加洲内華盛頓府之景 銅板之寫生"

Issen [Utagawa], Yoshikazu [illustrated by].

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

A decidedly European depiction of Washington, purportedly based on an (asyet unidentified) copperplate engraving. A scarce aizuri-e of a foreign scene by Utagawa Yoshikazu (active ca. 1850–70), a pupil of Kuniyoshi (1 ...

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 album of match labels]

Oda, Shūichi ... [et al] [commissioned by].

[Japan: privately published, ca. Shōwa 2-10 (1927-35)].

An album of tipped-in match labels produced in the 1920s and '30s when Japan's match label-collecting fad was at its peak. Most of the labels are woodblock-printed and have been produced in themed sets showcasing foreign t ...

The Hansei Zasshi: A Monthly Magazine, Vol. XIII., No. 1.

[Tsukioka], Kōgyo [illustrated by]; Inouye, Tetsusiro, Takakusu, J., Wadagaki, K., Fukuchi, M. [with contributions by].

Tokyo: The Hansei Zasshi Office, Meiji 30 [1898].

An issue of the Hansei Zasshi, "a monthly magazine in English, edited by Japanese". The editors pledge in their foreword to "repre ...

[Untitled obi]

[(Japan?): maker unidentified, ca. Shōwa period (20th century)].

A Shōwa period obi featuring multiple gold and silver book wrappers with elaborate patterns.

One obi. Light blue-grey underside. Approximately 434 x 31 cm.

[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 ...

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), of a story from Aesop's Fables. The triptych was produ ...

[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 collection of kibyōshi title panels]

Kyokutei, Bakin, Jippensha, Ikku, Santō, Kyōden ... [et al.] [original works authored by]; Katsukawa, Shuntei, Utagawa, Toyohiro ... [et al] [illustrated by].

[Edo (Tōkyō)]: Tsuruya Kiemon, Tsutaya Jūzaburō, Nishimura Yohachi ... [et al], [ca. mid-Edo period (1790-1830s?)].

A collection of 27 woodblock-pri ...

[An untitled collection of twenty-three kamon and katagami stencils]

[Creator/s unidentified]. 

[Japan: creator unidentified, ca. late Edo to late Meiji period (1850-1900s)?].

A collection of beautiful hand-cut stencils for textile dyeing. Most of the stencils feature kamon (circular family crests) and would have been used on the back panel of coats. ...

[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 ...

[An untitled folding object]

[Creator unidentified].

[Japan, ca. Meiji period (1870-1910s?)].

An unusual folding object with eight small opening pockets or compartments, two slightly larger pockets, and one large pocket. An intriguing origami-adjacent object made for play or perhaps for storing small items.

One folding object, c ...

[Untitled kuchi-e print]

Sensai [Kobayashi], Eikō [illustrated by].

[Japan: publisher unidentified, ca. late Meiji period (1890-1910s)?].

A 'collage' kuchi-e (frontispiece) by Sensai Eikō (1868-1933), feat ...

[An untitled set of fan designs] 

Inouye, Toshio [produced by].

Kyōto: Toshio Inouye, [ca. late Meiji to early Shōwa period (1900-20s)?].

A set of six hand-painted drafts for fan designs produced by "Toshio Inouye" of Kyoto (probably a fan shop or design studio). Four of the designs have been painted on fabric that is mounted on paper. The o ...

[An untitled set of Japanese photographs]

[Photographer/s unidentified]. 

[Japan: publisher/studio unidentified, ca. Taishō to early Shōwa period (1910-30s?)].

A complete set of souvenir photographs of Japan. The set is more adventurous than typical landscape-centric sets, focusing on the occupations and amusements of the common people. Highlights inc ...

[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. Many animals foreig ...

[An untitled surimono featuring poems by kabuki actors]

[Hasegawa], Sadanobu [II] [illustrated by]; Fukusuke, Tokizō, Danjurō ... [et al.] [poems by].

[Japan: publisher unidentified, ca. early Meiji period (1870-80s?)].

A surimono (woodblock-printed leaf) featuring twentytwo poems, seemingly all by kabuki actors, and an illustration of a flaming jewel by ...

[An untitled work based on the Kachikachi-yama folktale]

Kobayashi, Kiyochika [signature and seal of].

[Japan, ca. mid-Meiji period (1870-1900s?)]. In manuscript.

A playful hand-painted fan paper with a signature and seal attributed to the ukiyo-e artist Kobayashi Kiyochika (1847-1915). The design is based on the folktale Kachikachi-yama and shows a tanuki ...

[Japan]: Asahi Caramel, [ca. early Shōwa period (1930-50s)].

A set of four posters advertising Asahi Caramels.

Four leaves. Creases, light wear, small marks. Lacking string attachments. Each leaf measures approx. 39 x 13 cm.

Asakusa Kinryuzan Kaminarimon [Kaminarimon at Kinryūsan Temple, Asakusa]

[Hasegawa], Konobu [illustrated by].

Ōsaka: Tanaka Yasu [Yasujirō], [ca. Meiji 10 (1878)]. 

Determined temple-goers hold their umbrellas aloft as they fight their way through the crowded Kaminarimon in Asakusa on a rainy night. Senshafuda (votive slips) have been paste ...

Ataru Taishō Roku-nen Shichi-gatsu Kyōgen Sujigaki ["Sellout July 1917 Kyōgen: Play Scenario"] [with] Taishō Roku-nen Ku-gatsu Kyōgen Sujigaki ["September 1917 Kyōgen: Play Scenario"]

Kawatake, Mokuami [text by].

Kyōbashi, [Tōkyō]: Kamijō Minoji, Taishō 6 [1917].

Two sujigaki scenario-books for kyōgen kabuki performances staged in 1917 by the Ichimura-za t ...

[Japan: maker unidentified, ca. mid-Meiji period (1880-1900)].

A paper envelope used as packaging for "Best Sugar", a product from an unknown manufacturer. The illustration has been woodblock-printed and the Japanese characters lithographically-printed. The use of Roman characters was considered a popular and stylish addition to advertisements in the Meiji period.

Bikō zukan ["A mirror of beautiful crafts"]

Hasegawa, Keika [illustrated by]. 

Ōsaka: Aoki Tsunesaburō (Aoki Sūzandō), Meiji 27 [1894].

A complete two-volume set of colour woodblock-printed patterns designed by the painter Hasegawa Keika (act. 1892-1905). The one hundred patterns included would presumably have been designed for textiles and hand-craf ...

Bukkuman = Bookman

Tosho Kenkyūkai [produced by].

Tōkyō: Tosho Kenkyūkai, Shōwa 3 [1928].

The November 1928 issue (volume 2, issue 11) of Bookman, a monthly magazine for book lovers advertised as the "Ministry of Home Affairs monthly report on the delivery of books". Aside from numerous essays on books and authors, this issue features an illustration see ...

Ōsaka: Kōtō Saburō, Hisayama Yūkichi, Meiji 33 [1900].

Two woodblock-printed calendars for 1901, published in 1900 by two Osaka printers as advertisements for a rice store and a tuna store.

Two leaves. Chips to extremities, creases, and occasional small marks. 53 x 37.9 cm (left) and 53.5 x 35.4 cm (right).

Yūshū sakuhinshū ["Collection of outstanding works"] = Carton

Hashimoto, Chūgo [photography and printing by].

[Ishikawa]: Ishikawa Kenritsu Kōgyō Gakkō, [preface dated 1926].

A set of 156 photographic plates of textile, furniture, and ceramic designs from across the world. According to the preface, the headmaster of the industrial school that produc ...

"大しんぱん 大笑歌仙合 やさことば"

[Creator unidentified].

Gion, [Kyōto]: Yamasa, [ca. Edo period (early 19th century)].

A woodblock-printed collection of risqué poems, mostly about courtesans, published in the entertainment district of Kyōto in the early 19th century. The publisher, Yamasa, also produced kappazuri prints designed by Urakusai Nagahide in ...

"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 ...