[Draft illustrations for Onna Irezumi-shi ("The Woman Tattoo Artist")]

[Shimizu, Miezō (illustrated by)].

[Japan, ca. Shōwa 25 (1950)]. In manuscript.

A set of 190 draft illustrations by Shimizu Miezō (1893-1962) for the serial novel Onna Irezumi-shi ("The Woman Tattoo Artist") by Kunieda Kanji (1892-1956). The serial ran across 201 issues of the Sangyō Ke ...

Tōkaidō Gojūsantsugi Hachiyama-zue ["Pictures of the Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō as Potted Mountains"] 

Kimura, Tōsen [produced by]; Nan'yūtei [Utagawa, Yoshishige] [illustrated by]. 

Tōto [Edo]: Yoshida Kinbē, Kaei Gannen [1848] [but probably a Meiji era printing]. 

This inventive work offers a tour along the Tōkaidō hi ...

Jūshi Keisei Hara-no-uchi ["Inside the Guts of Fourteen Bombshell Beauties"]

Shiba, Zenkō [text by]; [Kitao, Shigemasa (illustrated by)]. 

[Tōri Abura-chō (Edo): Senkakudō, Kansei 5 (1793)].

A scarce medical-themed kibyōshi with eye-catching illustrations by Kitao Shigemasa. The description below of the work is provided by Hisa Kuriyama in Compara ...

[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 ...

[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 ...

Musha Jūroku Musashi ["A Jūroku Musashi Game of Warriors"]

Ōsai [Utagawa], Fusatane [illustrated by].

Bakurochō, [Tōkyō]: Higuchi Gintarō, [ca. Meiji period (1880-90s?)].

A variation on a classic Japanese strategy game, Jūroku Musashi ("Sixteen Soldiers"). In the game, which is believed to have originated in the Edo period, two players first decide who ...

[A collection of practice paintings by a student artist]

[Illustrator unidentified].

[Japan, ca. Meiji period (1870-90s?)]. In manuscript.

A collection of 29 leaves of paintings of animals and people produced by a burgeoning artist for practice. The paintings are largely copied from artworks by notable artists including Miyagawa Chōshun (1682-1752) and Iwa ...

[A collection of 39 fans]

Kamisaka, Sekka, Tomioka, Tessai, Takeuchi, Seihō .. [et al.] [illustrated by].

[Kyōto?: publisher/s unidentified, ca. late Meiji to early Shōwa period (1910-1920s?)].

A beautifully preserved collection of 39 eye-catching sensu fans featuring designs based on fruits, flowers, landscapes, people, and animals, by acclaimed artists i ...

Bijutsukai ["Sea of Art"]

Yamada, Naosaburō [produced by]; Furuya, Kōrin, Kaigai, Tennen, Kamisaka, Sekka ... [et al.] [illustrated by].

Kyōto: Yamada Unsōdō, Meiji 32-38 [1899-1905].

Issues 31-40, 58, 59, 61, 62, and 63 (of 70) of the acclaimed zuan magazine Bijutsukai. Replete with stunning colour woodblock-printed designs for textiles (and occasionally ...

[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 ...

[Set of movable type]

[Creator unidentified].

[Japan, ca. Meiji period (1870-90s?)]. 

A small set of hand-cut wooden movable type, probably produced in the Meiji period. The faces of the ninety pieces measure approximately 6 x 6 mm, and all depict kanji characters. The wooden tray is thought to be original. The type was probably used to print books or ...

Shin'an Ishō Chikosakura ["Chigozakura: New Designs"]

Tanaka, Jihē [edited by].

Kyōto: Tanaka Jihē, Meiji 23 [1890].

Volume one, believed to be all published, of this little-known album of creative designs for embroidery, brush cases, vases, inkstones, weights for hanging scrolls, and other objects. The preface notes that the work was published to s ...

Bankoku Meisho-zue: Sekai Ryokō = Illustrated Guide Book for Travellers Round the World

Aoki, Tsunesaburō [edited by].

Ōsaka: Aoki Tsunesaburō, Meiji 18-19 [1885-1886].

A seven-volume set of copperplate-printed guidebooks for countries around the world. While the books focus on famous landmarks and iconic locations, information on and illustrations of hist ...

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 were cu ...

[Seiyō Jiki Teikokuhan ("Model of Western Time Measurements")]

[Kanshūtei (preface by)].

[Tōto (Tōkyō): publisher unidentified, ca. early to mid-Meiji period (1870-1890s)].

A small volume providing Western equivalents of Japanese time measurements. The names of daytime measurements (e.g. "the time of the snake") are printed in red, while those of nighttim ...

Joreishiki no Zu ["Illustrations of Ladies' Etiquette"] 

[Yasui], Kotō [illustrated by].

Nihonbashi, [Tōkyō]: Matsuno Yonejirō, Meiji 28 [1895].

A colour woodblock-printed album of scenes of elegant Japanese ladies engaging in traditionally appropriate pastimes and ceremonies. The fourteen scenes spread over eight leaves picture women exchanging N ...

Grand Concert Parisien, Rentree de Mme Bonnaire [...] 

[Concert Parisien (produced by)].

[Paris: Concert Parisien, 1890?]. 

A chirimen (crepe paper) poster advertising various acts at the Concert Parisien. One of the acts is the famous cafe performer Yvette Guilbert (1865-1944), who joined the Concert Parisien around 1889 after leaving the caf&ea ...

Muyōsei ["The Six Personalities"] 

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

[Tōkyō: Ibasen, Kaei 6 (1853)].

A complete set of uchiwa-e (fan prints) illustrated by Kunisada I (Toyokuni III) for the publisher and fan shop Ibasen (founded 1590). Each beautiful woman in this series represents one of the six days from the traditional Japanese fortune-te ...

1.

Bandō Shichi-eishi ["The Seven Great Samurai of Bandō"]

Jippensha, Ikku [text by]; Katsukawa, Shuntei [illustrated by].

[Edo?: Enomotoya Kichibē, preface dated Kansei 13 (1801)]. 

An incomplete copy of this little-known work by the famous author Jippensha Ikku (1765-1831). The leaves are numbered 5, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. The first leaf ( ...

Shijō Taiheiyō Ryokō ["A Trip to the Pacific on Paper"]

Gunji, Jirōmasa [handwritten by].

[Japan, ca. early to mid-Shōwa period (1940-1950s?)]. In manuscript.

A draft of an article for All Women (Ōru Josei) magazine handwritten by author and lyricist Gunji Jirōmasa (1905-1973). In the article, the author takes the role of a guide, leading the readers (whic ...

[Four single-leaf advertisements]

Saitō, Moemon ... [et al.] [text by]; [Kobayashi], Kiyochika ... [et al.] [illustrations by].

[Japan: Kitagawaya, Gusokuya, ca. late Meiji period (1880-1900s)?].

A set of hikifuda (advertisements) produced for the bookseller Kitagawaya (Saitō Moemon) and the jihon doiya Gusokuya Kahei. The single print produced for Gusoku ...

Shukka Hōkoku ["Shipping Report"]

[Tomimura Naokichi Shōten (commissioned by)].

Tōkyō: Tomimura Naokichi Shōten, [ca. Meiji period (1870-90s?)].

A woodblock used at the Nihonbashi-based firm Tomimura Naokichi Shōten to print shipping forms. Although illegible, the item being sent (possibly a gathering of fabric) must have been shipped often by the compa ...

[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 ...

Pengin-chō no Hanashi ["The Story of Penguins"]

Tada, Keiichi [written by]; Tada, Haruki [illustrated by].

Tōkyō: Shunyōdō, Taishō Gannen [1912].

An introduction to penguins, written and illustrated by Tada Keiichi (Tada Haruki, 1883-1959). Tada travelled to the South Pole with Shirase Nobu in 1910 as the expedition's secretary/record keeper. The te ...

Kotengeki no Shinenshutsu wa Ikani Arubekika: Sheikusupia "Uenisu no Shōnin" (Mingei, Nissei Gekijo Kōen) ni Tsuite ["How Should New Productions of Classic Plays be Staged? Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice (Mingei and Nissei Theatre Productions)"]

Takei, Teruo [written by].

[Japan, ca. 1968]. Handwritten.

A draft in pen of an article by famed lit ...

Gokuraku Dōchu-zue ["Illustrations of the Roads to Heaven and Hell"]

Ōno, Kōtarō [edited by].

Tōkyō: Ōno Kōtarō, Meiji 31 [1898].

A guidebook describing the roads, places, and significant landmarks on the course of the soul to Buddhist Hell or Heaven, offered together with the one-leaf print Seija Ryōdō Reikon no Yukue Zukai Setsumei ("Explanation of the ...

 Kita Amerika-koku-sen Torai ["On the Arrival of Ships from the Country of North America"]

[Scribe unidentified].

[Japan], Kōka 3 [1846]. Handwritten.

A manuscript record of the arrival of the American East India Squadron warships Columbus and Vincennes captained by James Biddle in Edo Bay in 1846. Biddle's request that Japan open to trade wit ...

Kuang Shi Tu Shuo ["An Illustrated Explanation of Ore"]

Fu, Lanya [Fryer, John] [text by].

[China: publisher unidentified], Guāngxù 10 [1884].

A text on ore/natural rocks in Chinese by British missionary John Fryer (1839–1928). The work includes numerous in-text diagrams of typical shapes of rocks and crystals, and was probably produced wit ...

Gohō Shinron ["New Thesis on the Defense of the Dharma"]

Shōkoku, Dōjin [text by].

[Japan]: Seimeikan [blocks owned by], Keiō 3 [1867].

An illustrated three-volume work that "critiques the astronomical theories of the contemporary west and presents the cosmological teachings of Buddhist India".¹ In this work, the author, Shokoku Dojin (Kamuro An ...

Mata Yakinaosu Hachikazuki Hime: Kusazōshi Kojitsuke Nendaiki ["The Re-Baked Bowl-Crowned Princess: A Contorted History of Illustrated Fiction"]

Shikitei, Sanba [text and illustrations by].

[Edo: Nishinomiya Shinroku, Kyōwa 2 (1802)].

Written and illustrated by the acclaimed kusazōshi author Shikitei Sanba (1776-1822), Kusazōshi Kojitsuke Nendaiki narra ...

Miuchi-zoroi ["Collection of Beauties"]

Kikukawa, Eizan [illustrated by].

[Japan: Iwatoya Kisaburō, ca. Edo period (1800-20s)].

A courtesan adjusts her tortoiseshell hair ornaments in a pocket mirror, tissues tucked under her chin. This print seems to be from a different series than Eizan's similarly named Shoshoku Miuchi-zoroi and Fūryū Miuc ...

 Seirō Mutamagawa ["Six Jewel Rivers in the Pleasure Quarters"]

Kikukawa, Eizan [illustrated by].

[Japan: Yamamotoya Heikichi, ca. Edo period (1814-17?)].

Tsutanosuke of the Aka-Tsutaya is depicted in this scarce nishiki-e by Kikukawa Eizan (1787-1867). This work is part of a series in which Eizan represents Yoshiwara courtesans as the six Tamagawa ...

 [Untitled album of original paintings and sketches by prominent illustrators]

Matsuda, Seifū, Nonogase, Banka, Hirezaki, Eihō, Mizushima, Niou ... [et al.] [illustrated by].

[Japan, ca. late Taishō period (1917-1922)?].

An album of original paintings, sketches, caricatures, vignettes (frames, in-text ornaments, etc.), and more by acclaimed illustra ...

[Untitled painting]

[Yoshizawa, Renzaburō (painted by?)].

[Japan, ca. early Shōwa period (late 1930s-1940s)]. Oil painting.

A painting featuring a mother and her baby believed to have been rendered by the illustrator Yoshizawa Renzaburō (1893-1967). Yoshizawa was a Western-style painter who studied under Kuroda Seiki (1866-1924) and was prolific in produ ...

 Hibiki ["Reverberations"]

[Sugiura, Hisui (designed by)].

[Kyōto: Fushimi Yamamoto-jō, ca. Shōwa period (1930-60s)].

A set of five plates illustrated with a motif designed in 1932 by famed graphic designer and artist Sugiura Hisui (1876-1965) for the cigarette brand Hibiki. The set comes with one of the original cigarette packages (flattened) featu ...

Kyōka Zuan ["Designs from the Capital"]

Hasegawa, Keika [illustrated by].

Kyōto: Yamada Naosaburō, Yamada Unsōdō, Meiji 38 [1905].

The last volume of the zokuhen (the 'sequel' part) of this collection of stunning textile designs by Hasegawa Keika (act. 1892-1905). The creative illustrations, many of which reimagine traditional Japanese motifs, f ...

Hanagasane ["Layers of Flowers"]

Ichida, Yaichirō [illustrated by].

Kyōto: Ichida Yaichirō, Meiji 31 [1898].

An album of one hundred colour woodblock-printed kimono designs featuring creative motifs such as toys, flowers, landscapes, armour, fish, musical instruments, deer, birds, people, turtles, and so on. The captioned illustrations occasionally featu ...

[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 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 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 ...

Miyako Odori ["The Miyako Dance"]

Kajima, Seizaburō [text by].

Kyōto: Genrokukan, Meiji 35 [1902].

An illustrated guide to Kyoto's famed Miyako Odori dance, for distribution to Japanese and foreign tourists in April of 1902. The album-like program includes information in English and Japanese on the history of the dance, the names and roles of the (maik ...

Bojutsu Yumemonogatari ["Dream Story of 1838"]

Takano, Chōei [work by]; [Takizawa (copied by)?].

[Japan, ca. late Edo period (1840-60s?)].

In Tenpō 8 (1837), the American trading ship the Morrison, captained by Charles King, was met with cannon fire upon its arrival in Japan. Japan was still officially closed to other countries in the 1830s, so this w ...

Eshi Zōshi ["The Story of a Painter"]

[Creator unidentified].

Edo [Tōkyō]: Nakaya Tokubē [distributed by], [ca. Kaei period (1849)?]. 

A printed edition of the story of a poor painter, based on a medieval picture scroll. The original scroll is currently housed by the Museum of the Imperial Collections in Tokyo and was once believed to have been paint ...

[Collection of 39 set designs]

[Oda, Otoya ... (et al.) (illustrated by)?].

[Japan, ca. early to mid-Shōwa period (1930-70s)?]. In manuscript.

A collection of 39 set designs for performances of Japanese plays, painted in watercolours on high-quality art paper. The stage designer Oda Otoya (1921-2006) may have been responsible for the majority of the illust ...

[Untitled painting of a woman daydreaming]

Hatori, Kozan [painted by].  

[Japan, ca. Taishō to early Shōwa period (1910-30s)?]. In manuscript.

A large (176 x 108.5 cm) painting of an exhausted woman daydreaming of a rough sea voyage as a butterfly flutters around her head. The artist, Hatori Kozan (1891-), studied under Kajita Hanko (1870-1917) a ...

The Ten Bulls 

Matsumura, K. [Kaiseki] [compiled by]; Wadagaki, K. [Kenzō] [translated by]; Saito, Shoshyu [Saitō, Shōshū] [illustrated by]; Okura, H. [Hanbē] [blocks cut by]; Nishimura, K. [Kumakichi] [hand-printed by].  

Tōkyō: Sakura-Shobo, Taishō 3 [1914].

A delightful little book of Zen poems with skilfully woodblock-printed illustrati ...

Amijima Shinjū: Koharu Jihē ["The Love Suicide at Amijima: Koharu and Jihē"]

Shōrin, Hakuchi [performed by]; Namiue, Gisa[burō] [transcribed by]; Suzuki, Anjirō [edited by]; Toyohara, Kunichika [illustrated by].

Tōkyō: Yamato Shinbunsha, Meiji 30 [1897].

A complete transcription in four issues of a performance by professional storyteller Shōrin Hakuchi (1 ...

Jurin Shomoku ["Catalogue of Works from the Ranks of Confucian Scholars"] 

[Compiler unidentified].

[Japan, ca. Meiji to Taishō period (1880-1910s)?]. In manuscript.

A manuscript catalogue listing texts composed or edited by Japanese Confucian and Neo-Confucian philosophers including but not limited to Hayashi Razan (Dōshun, 1583-1657), Hayashi Gahō ( ...

Chiyogami Monyō Hyakushu: Shiki Banshō [“One Hundred Types of Chiyogami Patterns: All Four Seasons”]

Yoshimoto, Kanon [edited by]. 

Kyōto: Shūkōsha, Shōwa 47 [1972].

An album of over 290 tipped-in examples of woodblock-printed and stencil-printed papers from the Edo to Shōwa periods. The majority of the papers are chiyogami, but examples ...