[Title unidentified]

[Artist unidentified].

[Tōkyō: Chūō Hyōron-sha, ca. mid-Shōwa period (1950-60s?)].

A small printing block for a strip comic that probably appeared in a publication by the Chuō Hyōron-sha (the Chuo University Review), as this company name is inscribed on the side of the block. The strip seems to show a man being thrown out of an o ...

Tōken Gonbē ["Tōken Gonbē"]

Kinchōrō [Utagawa], Yoshitora [illustrated by].

Shijin [Shiba Daijingū], [Tōkyō]: Aritaya [Seiemon], [ca. Tenpō 14 to Kōka 4 (1843-1847)]. 

Tōken Gonbē was a loyal yet fearsome machiyakko (ruffian street gang) leader whose eventful life eternalised him as a popular kabuki hero after his beheading in 1686. An ally of the st ...

Tomonoura Harbour

Yoshida, Hiroshi [illustrated by].

[Japan: publisher unidentified, ca. 1985].

A later printing of Yoshida Hiroshi's 1930 Tomonoura Harbour, produced by his son Yoshida Toshi in commemoration of a catalogue of Hiroshi's works published around 1985. An interesting feature of this particular print is that the black outlines of the ke ...

"健胃強神　古加葡萄酒"

Yokohama: Meiji-ya, Meiji 27 [1894].

Tonic Coca Wine was a popular drink in Europe in the late 19th century, and, as can be seen from the images of medals in the illustration above, won numerous awards at expositions. The concoction is advertised here as a French-made must-have for the healthconscious buyer: a "strengthener of the entire sys ...

Tōshitsu ["Ceramics and Lacquerware"]

Nakamura, Shūho [illustrated by].

Kyōto: Gōmei Gaisha Unsōdō, Meiji 43 [1910].

An album of twenty double-page spreads of colour woodblock-printed designs for ceramics and lacquerware, by Nakamura Shūho. Shūho is described in the preface as a "graduate of the design department of the Kyoto School of Arts and Crafts" ...

Tsuki to Supponchi ["The Moon and a Supponchi"]

Shinoda, Kyūjirō [edited by]; Mantei, Ōga, Kanagaki, Robun, Baitei, Kinga ... [et al.] [supplemented by], Seisei [Kawanabe], Kyōsai, Tsukioka, Yoshitoshi ... [et al.] [illustrated by]. 

Tōkyō: Kōshūsha, Meiji 11-12 [1878-1879].

Issues 1 to 20 of Tsuki to Supponchi, a satirical newspaper edited by Shin ...

Tsūzoku Isoppu Monogatari ["Aesop's Popular Fables"]

Aesop [original fables by]; Watanabe, Tazunu [translated by]; Fujisawa, Bainan, Sakaki, Kōson, Kawanabe, Kyōsai, [Tenniel, Sir John], [Wolf, Joseph] [illustrated by]. 

Tōkyō: Watanabe Tazunu [printing blocks owned by], Yamashiroya Sahē [distributed by], Meiji 5-6 [1872-1873].

The most widely kn ...

[Two albums of woodblock-printed ephemera]

[Illustrators unidentified].

[Tōkyō: Miyake Mokuhan Surisakuho, ca. mid-Shōwa period (1950s)].

Two albums of tipped-in ephemera, including menus, invitations, advertisements, and New Year's cards, woodblock printed for a range of Tokyo-based clients by the Miyake Woodblock Printing Store. Several prints provid ...

[Two kamishimo jackets and two pairs of kamishimo trousers]

[Creator/s unidentified].

[Japan, ca. late Meiji to early Shōwa period (1900-30s)?].

Kamishimo garments, ceremonial or formal wear for men, were used predominantly by samurai in the Edo period, but continue to be used in Japan to this day for special occasions. This collection includes two naga-ka ...

[Two untitled scrolls signed "Yamamoto Shōun"]

[Yamamoto], Shōun [signed by].

[Japan, ca. Meiji period (1890-1930s?)]. In manuscript.

A set of two (unrelated) scrolls signed Shōun 昇雲. One scroll features two scenes from the traditional Japanese fairytale "The Tongue-Cut Sparrow". The scene at the top of the scroll shows the sparrows' inn, the lower th ...

Udaijin Michizane Kō ["Minister of the Right, Michizane"] 

[Utagawa], Toyokuni [III] [illustrated by].

[Edo (Tōkyō)]: Jōshūya [Shigeshichi], [1860].

A beautiful impression of this portrait by Toyokuni III (Utagawa Kunisada) of Kataoka Nizaemon as Sugawara no Michizane in the play Tenmangū Rishō no Kamimagaki. The pattern on the coat features stunnin ...

[Untitled compilation of illustrations of beautiful women by famous artists]

Inaba, Keikichi [edited by].

Tōkyō: Tsūshin Shinbunsha, Meiji 24 [1891].

A woodblock-printed compilation of illustrations of beautiful women from famous artists including (but not limited to) Toyokuni, Kuniyoshi, Hiroshige, Hokusai, Utamaro, Eisen, Tsunenobu, Yoshitada, Kōsen, Mo ...

[Untitled diptych of a woman in snow]

Kōchōrō [Utagawa], Kunisada [illustrated by].

[Edo (Tōkyō)]: Sanoki [Sanoya Kihei], [ca. Bunka 12 - Tenpō 13 (1815-1842)?].

A diptych by Utagawa Kunisada I (Toyokuni III, 1786-1864) of a woman (possibly the character Osono from Kanadehon Chushingura ("The Treasury of Loyal Retainers")) in a beautiful dark blue kosode a ...

[Untitled folding object]

[Creator unidentified].

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

An unusual folding object with small opening pockets or compartments, constructed from a colour woodblock-printed omocha-e toy print. Genjikō (Genji Incense) patterns appear on the inner panels of the object and on the eri collar of the elegant woman adorning the fro ...

[Untitled hikifuda (advertisement)]

Seisei [Kawanabe], Kyōsai [illustrated by]. 

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

An unused hikifuda (advertisement print) designed by Kyōsai. Companies could buy blank woodblock-printed sheets such as these and print or write their business details in the blank spaces provided. ...

[Untitled kimono featuring lobsters]

[Creator unidentified].

[Japan: creator unidentified, ca. early Shōwa period (1920-40s)?].

A stunning uchikake or kaidori - kimono worn over a kosode or furisode by a bride on her wedding day - patterned with Ise-ebi (Japanese spiny lobsters). The lining of the uchikake is made from red and pink fabrics, the latter patt ...

[Untitled omocha-e woodblock print]

[Artist unidentified].

[Japan]: Monbushō Seihonjo, [ca. early Meiji period (1870-1880s)].

An early Meiji "cut-out-and-play" style omocha-e (toy print) featuring a foreign woman and three children, an outfit for each, and an array of accessories. The figures reflect the fascination with Western clothes that followed the o ...

[Untitled painting of a monkey]

[Artist unidentified].

[Japan, ca. Taishō to early Shōwa period (1920-40s)?]. In manuscript.

A tanzaku-sized painting on silk of a monkey in a human-like stance, mounted as a hanging scroll. The painting is signed 栖鳳 ("Seihō") in the upper left. While this suggests that the painter was acclaimed artist Takeuchi Seihō (1864 ...

[Untitled print]

Hisashi [illustrated by].

[Japan, ca. late Taishō to early Shōwa period (1920-1930s)?].

A print - probably a halftone - featuring an elegant Japanese woman playing cards. She sports a modern hairstyle, ruby red lips, and an obi that sparkles with a silver pigment. The artist's name, Hisashi, is printed in the upper left corner. 

[Untitled scroll of feather patterns]

[Creator unidentified].

[Japan, ca. mid to late Edo period (1800-1840s)?]. In manuscript.

A handscroll recording 42 types of feathers used in arrow-making. Each illustration is captioned with a number and the name of the pattern depicted. Most of the feathers used in arrow-making in Japan were taken from birds of prey, ...

[Untitled set of fan designs]

[Suzuki], Kason, [Takeuchi], Seihō ... [et al.] [illustrated by].

[Japan: publisher/s unidentified, ca. Taishō to early Shōwa period (1920-30s)?].

A set of 21 designs for fan papers, with illustrations by artists including Suzuki Kason ("Kwasson") and Takeuchi Seihō. Some fans have been woodblock printed, others lithographical ...

[Untitled set of printing blocks]

[Creators unidentified].

[Japan, ca. late Edo to early Shōwa period (1860-1930s?)].

An assortment of wooden and metal printing blocks and pieces of type produced in Japan. Most of the wooden blocks feature advertisements for sake and hemp, and seem to have been produced in Yashū, Tochigi Prefecture. The metal blocks, on t ...

[Untitled set of scrolls featuring a dragon and a tiger]

Shōseki, Sanjin [Kose, Shōseki] [signed by].

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

A dynamic rendering of a traditional tiger and dragon pairing. The tiger crouches on rocks surrounding a river while the dragon flies above tumultuous waves through menacing clouds. Just as the body o ...

[Untitled sugoroku game]

[Illustrator unidentified].

[Japan: publisher unidentified, ca. late Edo period (1800-1840s?)].

A sugoroku game sheet based on several contemporary plays including the jōruri (puppet) play Dan no Ura Kabuto Gunki, which features as its protagonist the courtesan Akoya and was first staged in 1732, and one of the several iterations o ...

[Untitled surimono]

[Deguchi], Sansetsu [signed and sealed in the block by].

[Edo (Tōkyō)], Hinoetatsu [1856].

A surimono featuring poems and an illustration of a man offering a drink to a turtle by Deguchi Sansetsu (active late 1840s–early 1850s), an Edo-based painter. Several elements of the illustration (the fisherman, turtle, and black box) are p ...

[Untitled surimono]

Ka'an [Kita], Busei [signed and sealed in the block by].

[Edo (Tōkyō), ca. late Edo period (1840-50s)].

A flower emerges from a hanging ceramic vase laid on the ground. Ka'an (Kita) Busei (1776-1857) was a nanga painter born in Edo. He studied under Tani Bunchō and was a friend of Watanabe Kazan, Kyokutei Bakin, Kuwagata Keisai ...

[Untitled surimono]

Shōji [signed and sealed by].

[Edo (Tōkyō)], Kinotou [1855].

A mother and child prepare to arrange flowers in this surimono illustrated by "Shōji". 

One ōbōsho surimono, complete. Folds, browning, light stains, and marks. Full-leaf washi mounting to verso. 33.9 x 52.1 cm. 

[Untitled surimono]

Gashun [signed and sealed by].

[Edo (Tōkyō)], Kaei 2 [1849].

A surimono featuring an illustration of a young girl playing a board game, by the Maruyama-Shijō School painter Gashun (active c. 1847-1859). Metallic pigments have been used in sections of the illustration. 

One ōbōsho surimono, complete. Folds, br ...

[Untitled surimono]

Kishū [signed and sealed in the block by].

[Edo (Tōkyō)], Ansei Kinotou [1855].

In this surimono illustrated by "Kishū", a woman crouches over a mortar, attentively grinding something (possibly persimmon leaves, judging from the branch of persimmons across from her) into a powder or fine tea.  

One ōb� ...

[Untitled surimono]

[Sōen], Kabocha [signed and sealed by].

[Edo (Tōkyō)], Tenpo Mizunoetatsu [1832]. 

Courtiers, two of whom are pictured holding a tray of mochi balls, gather around a fire on a chilly night. Harvested rice is pictured in the background. The artist, Kabocha (1777-1846), is also known as Sōen. 

One ōbōsho s ...

[Untitled surimono]

Harada, Keigaku [signed and sealed in the block by].

[Edo (Tōkyō), ca. late Edo period (1840-50s)].

A seasonal surimono produced for autumn, featuring a river, red leaves (momiji), and moss-covered rocks. The artist, Harada Keigaku (1803-1885), studied painting under Shijō School artist Okamoto Toyohiko (1773-1845) in Kyoto, then later ...

[Untitled surimono]

Harada, Keigaku [signed and sealed in the block by].

[Edo (Tōkyō)], Mizunotou [1843].

Plum branches blossom in this elegant New Year surimono by Harada Keigaku (1803-1885). Keigaku studied painting under Shijō School artist Okamoto Toyohiko (1773-1845) in Kyoto, then later under Suzuki Nanrei (1775-1844) in Edo (Tokyo).

[Untitled surimono]

Harada, Keigaku [signed and sealed in the block by].

[Edo (Tōkyō)], Tatsu [1844].

Mt. Fuji and the scenic Miho no Matsubara area are depicted in this New Year surimono by Harada Keigaku (1803-1885). Keigaku studied painting under Shijō School artist Okamoto Toyohiko (1773-1845) in Kyoto, then later under Suzuki Nanrei (1775-1844) in Edo ...

[Untitled surimono]

[Harada], Keigaku [sealed in the block by].

[Edo (Tōkyō)], Kinotomi [1845].

A dancer dressed as an ogre-like creature encounters a snake in this surimono by Harada Keigaku (1803-1885). This scene appears in the bugaku (music and dance) composition Genjōraku in which the dancer celebrates the discovery of a snake, an important medicinal ...

Kotō Hachiman saigi no zu ["Illustration of the Kotō Hachiman ceremony"]

[Harada], Keigaku [sealed in the block by].

[Edo (Tōkyō)], Kinoetatsu [1844].

An illustration by Harada Keigaku (1803-1885) of the lively Kotō Hachiman festival adorns this striking surimono. Keigaku studied painting under Shijō School artist Okamoto Toyohiko (1773-1845) in Kyoto, the ...

[Untitled surimono]

[Artist unidentified].

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

A small, spring-themed surimono featuring three poems and an illustration by an unidentifiable artist. One of the poems refers to spring and another to the melting ice on a frozen-over well. These may provide clues as to the theme of the illustration, which seems to show on ...

[Untitled surimono] 

Kōsai [Utagawa, Yoshimori] [illustrated by].

[Japan: privately published], Meiji 2 [1869].

A haikai surimono featuring an illustration of a shishimai lion dancer and three musicians by Utagawa Yoshimori (1830-1885), a pupil of Kuniyoshi. The texture of the brush strokes from Yoshimori's original illustration has been masterful ...

[Untitled surimono] 

[Shibata], Zeshin [illustrated by]; Baiso [statement of responsibility by].

[Japan: privately published], Kinoene [1864].

A haikai surimono featuring an illustration of a kite, fish, pine, and what may be paper shide by Shibata Zeshin (1807-1891). The name Baiso appears under the date (spring, 1864) at the end of the text and prob ...

Ushiya Zōdan Aguranabe: Ichimei Doronken ["Beef-Shop Small-Talk: Cross-Legged (at a Beef) Pot"]

Kanagaki, Robun [text by]; Ikkeisai [Utagawa], Yoshiiku [illustrated by]. 

Tōkyō: Seishidō, [preface dated Meiji 4 (1871)]. 

The shohen (first series) of Robun's famous satire on the perceived sophistication of Western customs. In the work, he ri ...

Usumurasaki Genji no Somewake ["Dyeing of the Lilac Genji"]

[Toyohara], Kunichika [illustrated by]; Ōta, Komakichi [printing blocks cut by].

Fukagawa Takabashi (Edo): Etsuka, Bunkyū 2 [1862].

A fascinating triptych featuring characters from The Tale of Genji examining a newly purchased sugoroku game sheet based on famous kabuki actors. Searches for the ti ...

Yamakawa Furiwake Sugoroku ["A Game Sheet of Mountains and Rivers Divided"]

Ichiyōsai [Utagawa], Toyokuni [III] [illustrated by].

Akasaka, [Edo (Tōkyō)]: Iseya Kanekichi, [Kōka 4 (1847) - Kaei 5 (1852)].

A scarce multi-ōban sugoroku game sheet by Utagawa Toyokuni III (Utagawa Kunisada) based on scenes from folktales located at mountains or rivers. The squa ...

Yaso Taiji Baka Shinnyū ["Extermination of the Christians: Infiltration of the Idiots"]

Kato, Tomisaburō [edited by].

Ōsaka: Katō Tomisaburō, Meiji 14 [1881]. "New edition".

A mitate banzuke (sheet that ranks people and behaviours in a parody of a sumo ranking sheet) listing the behaviours of Japanese Christians the compiler considers "idiotic". While th ...

[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 ...

Yowamushi Korokoro Goton Jūton no Zu ["Roly-Poly Cowards: Pigs with Five Heads and Ten Bodies"]

Seirakusai [Ochiai], Yoshiiku [illustrated by].

[Japan: publisher unidentified, ca. Meiji 28 (1895)].

A satirical giga print on the Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895) featuring, as the title suggests, interjoined Chinese soldiers with a total of ten bodies and five ...

Zensei Meigi-zoroi ["Full Cast of the Most Popular Geisha"] 

Chōkarō [Utagawa], Yoshiiku [illustrated by].

[Tōkyō]: Iseki [Iseya Kihē], [Meiji 2 (1869)]. 

A colourful woodblock print of elegant geisha and their attendants playing cards, from the Zensei Meigi-zoroi series by Utagawa Yoshiiku (1833-1904).

One leaf, woodblock- ...

Hana Yūjo Suikoden [A Suikoden of Beautiful and Brave Women]

Ōju [Toyohara], Kunichika [illustrated by].

Ningyochō, [Edo]: Gusokuya [Kahei], [1869].

A striking woodblock-printed triptych by Toyohara Kunichika (1835–1900) depicting the heroes of the Suikoden as ten elaborately tattooed and weapon-bearing women. Each figure in the yakusha-e repre ...

[Untitled advertisement for a machiai-jaya]

[Creator unidentified].

Tōkyō: Nakamanjiya [et al.], [ca. 1868].

An advertisement announcing the joint opening of a machiai-jaya by three pleasure houses—Nakamanjiya, Shinagawaya, and Mikawaya—in Tōkyō Shin-Shimabara, a pleasure quarter established in 1868 and modeled on Kyōto’s Shim ...