Japanese and Chinese Artistic Traditions

A selection of woodblock prints and paintings showcasing nature, animals, and traditional techniques in Asian art, rich with cultural symbolism and detail.

Japan, Turtle, verso - stamped, A turtle crawls ashore. His shield is covered with seaweed as a sign of great age., print, prent, surimono, prints, prenten, Japan (collection), height 156 mm, width 193 mm, print maker, prentmaker, 1850 - 1900, paper, papier, colour woodcut, kleurhoutsnede

Japan, Turtle, verso - stamped, A turtle crawls ashore. His shield is covered with seaweed as a sign of great age., print, prent, surimono, prints, prenten, Japan (collection), height 156 mm, width 193 mm, print maker, prentmaker, 1850 - 1900, paper, papier, colour woodcut, kleurhoutsnede

Surimono Shibata Zeshin (Japanese, 1807-1891). Surimono, 1844. Woodblock print on paper, 6 7/8 x 5 3/8 in. (17.5 x 13.7 cm). Asian Art 1844

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Reverberations of Taiga, Volume 1 (leaf 11), mid- to late 1700s. Aoki Shukuya (Japanese, d. 1802). Pair of albums; ink, or ink and light color on paper; album, closed: 28.3 x 33 cm (11 1/8 x 13 in.). Traditionally, young painters in Japan began their studies with an established master-painter. The master's compositions invariably became models that the apprentice copied to learn various ink and brush techniques. Shukuya was a pupil of the famous Kyoto artist Ikeno Taiga, whose style is reflected in these sketches of rocks, trees, and mountains.

Mustard Seed Garden, a Chinese Painter's Manual Mustard Seed Garden, a Chinese Painter's Manual, 1782. Woodblock printed book, ink and color on paper, Each: 11 3/4 x 6 13/16 x 3/16 in. (29.8 x 17.3 x 0.5 cm). Asian Art 1782

Portable lacquer picnic carrier and cherryblossoms. Artist: Katsushika Hokusai, Japanese, 1760-1849

Mountain Landscape, brush and black ink on silk, mounted, and with a gray brocade mat, Europe and Japan, 17th century, theater, Drawing, Drawing

Votive tables with flowers; EMA; A series with horses; Umazukushi. Votive prints (EMA) with golden dots in the shape of a pagoda, and one with the image of a horse. In the background blossom branches and a packed gift in the foreground. With three poems about the beginning of spring in the year of the horse.

Reclining Plum, from the Series for the HanazonoClub. Artist: Totoya Hokkei, Japanese, 1780-1850

Page from Shi Zhu Zhai China. Page from Shi Zhu Zhai. China. Polychrome woodblock print; ink and color on paper. Qing dynasty (1644-1911), Kangxi period (1662-1722). Prints

Album of Miscellaneous Subjects, Leaf 4, early 1650s. Fan Qi (Chinese, 1616-aft 1694). Album leaf, ink and color on silk; image: 12.6 x 17.3 cm (4 15/16 x 6 13/16 in.); overall: 21 x 22 cm (8 1/4 x 8 11/16 in.).

Set of Utensils for the Tea Ceremony. Artist: Kubo Shunman (Japanese, 1757-1820) (). Culture: Japan. Dimensions: 5 7/16 x 7 1/4 in. (13.8 x 18.4 cm). Date: 19th century. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

Hotei Pointing at the Moon. Fūgai Ekun (Japan, 1568-circa 1654). Japan, 16th-17th century. Paintings; scrolls. Hanging scroll; ink on paper

Landscapes, Figures, and Flowers dated 1618-22 Chen Hongshou Chinese This exquisite album, done when Chen Hongshou was between twenty and twenty-four, exhibits a broad range of subject matter and an extraordinarily fastidious brush style that attest to his reputation as a youthful prodigy. Not long after the album was completed, the noted connoisseur and artist Chen Jiru added his critical comments opposite several of the leaves in the album, a further confirmation of Chen Hongshou's recognition among his contemporaries.In the first leaf, the bleak scene of an untended garden presents a powerful image of the decay infecting late Ming society just twenty-five years before the dynasty was toppled by the Manchus. In his accompanying inscription Chen asks, "Does anybody notice" In subsequent leaves, Chen's evocations of Li Gonglin's (ca. 1041-1106) monochrome drawing (baimiao) figural style, Ni Zan's (1306-1374) dry trees, Wang Meng's (ca. 1308-1385) cloudlike mountains, and Qian Xuan's (

Landscape and Couplet of Chinese Verse late 18th century Ike Taiga Ike Taiga juxtaposes a landscape of towering mountains of an almost impossible steepness with a four-line poem by the Tang-dynasty poet Li Bai, celebrating the spirit of solitude found within unspoiled nature. A pathway leads from close to the lower margin into the center of the composition and draws the viewer into the pictorial space. It seems to invite us to imagine ourselves in the place of the lonely wanderer shown in the center of the image. The man is likely meant to be the poet himself, since the walking pole is an iconographic convention for representing Li Bai. The poem reads:The birds have vanished down the sky. Now the last cloud drains away. We sit together, the mountain and me, until only the mountain remains. Trans. Sam Hamill. Landscape and Couplet of Chinese Verse. Ike Taiga (Japanese, 1723-1776). Japan. late 18th century. Pair of hanging scrolls; ink on paper. Edo period (1615-1868). Paintings

Figure of a woman

Landscape, Cheng Men, 1850 - 1900 Album magazine with a landscape. Signed by Cheng Men, known as porcelain painter in Jingdezhen. Shexian ink. paper Album magazine with a landscape. Signed by Cheng Men, known as porcelain painter in Jingdezhen. Shexian ink. paper

Sunrise with Fisherman in Boat. Artist: Kubo Shunman (Japanese, 1757-1820). Culture: Japan. Dimensions: Image: 5 5/8 x 7 3/8 in. (14.3 x 18.7 cm). Date: 1795, year of the rabbit.This image of sunrise at the New Year is accompanied by a kyoka (31-syllable witty verse) by the noted poet Soyoan Hikaru and two of his pupils. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

A garden-piece: flowers, fighting grasshoppers, ants and other insects. Origin: China. Date: 1368-1644. Period: Ming dynasty. Color on silk. Museum: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery.

Squash Vine. Ueda Kōchū (Japan, 1819-1911). Japan, 19th century. Prints; woodblocks. Color woodblock print

Scenes from Japanese and Chinese legends: the top scene depicts a monkey blowing on a hair to conjure up a legion of monkey warriors; the bottom scene depicts the aged Japanese couple, the symbol of marital harmony and longevity, watching the sunset under a pine tree. Colour woodcut by Yoshitoshi, 1880s.

De geluksgod Fukurokujû.The luck god Fukurokujû writes the number 77 on a sheet of paper with a brush. Upstairs and on a pile behind him New Year's decorations, including knotted rope, sailing leaf, sinoque leaf, rice cakes and crayfish. The large round rice cakes symbolize infinity. The seventyiest birthday is considered very important in Japan.

Schildering, gao qipei, 1700-1750 One of twelve landscapes, finger painting with the inscription of the painter Gao Qipei (1662 - 1731 ()). Note: see inv. no. AK-MAK-290. China paper. ink. dye One of twelve landscapes, finger painting with the inscription of the painter Gao Qipei (1662 - 1731 ()). Note: see inv. no. AK-MAK-290. China paper. ink. dye

Bonsai Plum, Compass, and Pocket Sundial with Design of Calendar, from Spring Rain Surimono Album (Harusame surimono-jō, vol. 3) 1806 Ryūryūkyo Shinsai Japanese Surimono are privately published woodblock prints, usually commissioned by poets or poetry groups as a form of New Years greeting card. The poems, most commonly kyōka (witty thirty-one syllable verse), inscribed on the prints usually include felicitous imagery connected with spring, which in the lunar calendar begins on the first day of the first month. Themes of surimono are often erudite, frequently alluding to Japanese literary classics in both texts and images.This album belongs to a set of three compiled by Hayashi Tadamasa, the great Parisian dealer of Japanese art. Hayashi arranged the more than four hundred prints in the set on facing leaves according to themes, or in a way that created an attractive arrangement of designs, complementary in both color and shape. The pigments, printing techniques, and paper used for sur

Examples of motifs for dust. Two pieces of fabric with different motifs. In elongated cartouches, the names of the fabrics are shown. With two poems.

Saigyô Cherry, 1835, Woodcuts, Color; surimono, Paper / Sheet 8 7/16 x 6 15/16 in. (21.5 x 17.7 cm)

Bush Warbler and Rose (Kocho, bara), from an untitled series of flowers and birds 1829-1839 Japan. Color woodblock print; chuban . Katsushika Hokusai

Collected Light Verses and Noted Landscapes (Sansui kikan kyoka shu). Artist: Yashima Gakutei (Japanese, 1786-1868). Culture: Japan. Dimensions: 9 × 6 3/8 in. (22.8 × 16.2 cm). Date: ca. 1820. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

Camelia on head with horse, anonymous, 1822 Camelia flower in a porcelain head decorated with a horse. Surimono in Shijo style with multiple poems. Japan paper color woodcut Camelia flower in a porcelain head decorated with a horse. Surimono in Shijo style with multiple poems. Japan paper color woodcut

Fans decorated with motifs of the three auspicious dreams of the New Year 1816-1826 Japan. Color woodblock print; shikishiban, surimono . Totoya Hokkei

Three scenes and a poem on one board

Smoking Set on Bench, Utagawa Kunisada (I), c. 1810 - c. 1815 print On a sofa with a red mat over it outside of a tea house there are a smoking set and a covered Tea Com. A poem next to the image. paper color woodcut tea- and coffee-service. furniture and household effects

Chidori-gai, itaya-gai, awabi, utsuse-gai, asari-gai, and monoara-gai, from the illustrated book Gifts from the Ebb Tide (Shiohi no tsuto) 1789 Japan. Color woodblock print; double-page illustration from book . Kitagawa Utamaro

Red Lotus and Fish. Artist: Tang Guang (Chinese, ca. 1670-1690). Culture: China. Dimensions: Image: 48 1/2 × 22 7/8 in. (123.2 × 58.1 cm)Overall with mounting: 88 5/8 × 30 1/2 in. (225.1 × 77.5 cm)Overall with knobs: 88 5/8 × 34 1/4 in. (225.1 × 87 cm).This large hanging scroll painting places the viewer at the edge of a lotus pond at the height of summer. Lotus blossoms stretch skyward from the water on their improbably thin stems, some in full bloom, some still tightly wrapped. Around them, enormous, heavy green lotus leaves provide a counterpoint to the pinks and reds of the blossoms. In the clear water beneath the flowers, a school of fish darts amid water grasses beneath lily pads.Tang Guang's name is little recorded in Chinese painting history, but this work reveals that he was a sensitive practitioner of the Piling School manner of flower painting, named for Tang's hometown (also known as Changzhou). Painters in Changzhou were known for closely cropped vignettes of meticulo

Kaishien gaden = The mustard seed garden painting manual.. Wang, Gai, active 1677-1705. Prints, Illustrations. 1753. Spencer Collection

Various Seaweed 19th century Kubo Shunman Japanese. Various Seaweed 54059 Artist: Kubo Shunman, Japanese, 17571820 (), Various Seaweed, 19th century, Part of an album of woodblock prints (surimono); ink and color on paper, 8 1/4 x 7 3/8 in. (21 x 18.7 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929 (JP2286)

Sweet Fishes of the Nagara River, with Baskets and Flowers. Artist: Ryuryukyo Shinsai (Japanese, active ca. 1799-1823). Culture: Japan. Dimensions: 5 11/16 x 7 1/2 in. (14.4 x 19.1 cm). Date: 19th century. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

Poet in Garden with Woman and Child, Kitao Masanobu, 1786 - 1787 print The Kyoka poet Shikatsube No Magao with a woman and child in a garden with pink flowering bushes (Lespedeza). The child has a frog in his hand. The poem was made by Hanamichi No Tsurane (pseudonym of the actor Ichikawa Danjuro V). paper color woodcut portrait of a writer. writer, poet, author. family group, especially parents with their child(ren). tailless amphibians: frog

Hanging Flower Basket Kawabata Gyokusho (Japanese, 1842-1913). , ca. 1890. Woodblock color print, 8 3/4 x 11 3/8 in. (22.2 x 28.9 cm). Asian Art ca. 1890

Picture Book Selected Insects (Ehon mushi erabi) 1788 Japan. Color woodblock printed books, two volumes . Kitagawa Utamaro

Scene from The Kōrin Picture Book (Volume 2), 1800s. Nakamura Hōchū (Japanese, d. 1819). Color woodblock printed book; Ogata Korin (1658-1716) was one of the most admired artists of Rimpa, or "decorative school painting." These books by the charming later-generation Rimpa artist Hochu record Korin's inventive designs.

Album Leaf of a Scholar in Landscape, 14th-15th century, 10 9/16 x 11 3/4 in. (26.83 x 29.85 cm) (image, sheet), Ink on silk, China, 14th-15th century, A contemplative scholar sits at ease with his books and writing tools in an outdoor setting. His young assistant prepares the ink as his master looks on perhaps, imagining some future verse. Album leaves such as this typify early Ming taste for Southern Song models and subject matter.

Two Poems from the Collection of Ancient and Modern Poems (Kokin wakashu). Artist: Ike Taiga (Japanese, 1723-1776). Culture: Japan. Dimensions: Image: 10 1/2 × 13 1/8 in. (26.7 × 33.3 cm)Overall with mounting: 42 15/16 × 17 7/8 in. (109 × 45.4 cm)Overall with knobs: 42 15/16 × 20 1/2 in. (109 × 52 cm). Date: 1734. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

Mander met Aubergines, Totoya Hokkei, c. 1890 - c. 1900 print With two poems. The print is a B copy. paper color woodcut plants and herbs: egg plant

Sea view with lighthouse, Anonymous, 1800 - 1900 paper color woodcut coast. lighthouse, lightship

A Flower Arrangement, Katsushika Hokusai, 1868-1912 print Three vases, a porcelain water jug, scissors and flowers and branches to experience flower arrangements (Ikebana). With three poems. The shell to which the title refers is depicted in the fan -shaped cartouche. This is a copy to the original print from 1821. paper color woodcut arranging flowers

. A boy in kimono makes gestures to a fox that is shown on a screen like shadow. A Shijo-style surimono with several poems.

Studies from Nature: Plants, Fish, and Birds (Lotus Tuber with Insects), first half 19th century, Urakami Shunkin, Japanese, 1779 - 1846, 9 7/8 × 13 1/8 in. (25.08 × 33.34 cm) (image)39 15/16 × 17 11/16 in. (101.44 × 44.93 cm) (mount, without roller), Ink and color on silk, Japan, 19th century

Agate Menôseki (title on object) A series with horses (series title) Umazukushi (series title on object), In a lacquer pot filled with small stones are two branches of red coral. On the ground next to it, a rough and a polished piece of agate. With three poems. Literally translated, the Japanese title of this print means 'horse brain stone' (hence this design for this series of prints), but it means agate. From the beginning of the 19th century, poet groups held meetings where they showed each other special valuables, such as the objects in this still life, coelenterata: coral, Katsushika Hokusai (mentioned on object), Japan, 1822, paper, polishing, h 206 mm × w 180 mm

Landscapes after old masters. Artist: Du Xiang (Chinese, active late 19th century). Culture: China. Dimensions: 10 1/8 x 6 3/8 in. (25.7 x 16.2 cm). Date: 19th century.By the late nineteenth century, when the little-known painter Du Xiang made this album, artists had been engaging with the same old-master styles for centuries, and the possibilities for an original contribution appeared to be running out. Nevertheless, Du persisted, creating something fresh and new by magnifying manners and exaggerating forms. See, for instance, the second leaf, in which the tenth-century artist Li Cheng's classic composition of twin pines backed by mountains has been rendered as a tipsy, whimsical fantasia of lines unlike anything seen before or since. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

Kabocha or pumpkin fruit, Cucurbita pepo. Handcoloured woodblock print by Kono Bairei from Kusa Bana Hyakushu (One Hundred Varieties of Flowers), Tokyo, Yamada, 1901.

Writing Implements and Seals 1799-1811 Japan. Color woodblock print; horizontal chuban, surimono . Kubo Shunman

Japan, Namioto, Kokatei, Still life for the new year, A porcelain cup depicting two young puppies and a dandelion stands on a lacquer tray. The black beans on the leaf, like the holly branch and the sardine's head, serve as a defense against evil, so that the new year could begin purely and prosperously. The dogs refer to the new year of the Dog, 1838. With one poem., surimono, print, prent, prints, Japan (collection), height 121 mm, width 183 mm, print maker, prentmaker, 1838 - 1838, second quarter 19th century, paper, colour woodcut, blind printing, Japanese, poet

The Sagoromo captain, 1819 - 1820 print Sagoromo plays the flute so beautiful that a goddess appears. From the complete series of three Surimonos with one of the 'three gentlemen of Japanese literature' in the presence of a lady. paper. pigment color woodcut male literary characters (with NAME). transverse flute - CC - out of doors

China, Ding, Liangxian, Flowers and burning censer, print, China (collection), height 354 mm, width 265 mm, print maker, 1600 - 1650, paper, color woodcut

Chen Hongshou (1598-1652), courtesy name Zhanghou and pseudonym Laolian, was a Chinese painter from Zhuji who lived during the late Ming Dynasty era. Chen trained under the famed artist Lan Ying, and developed a plump and profound brushwork style that lent itself to illustrations and tapestry portraits.

Famous Places in Owari 1847 Katsukawa Shunkō Japanese. Famous Places in Owari. Katsukawa Shunkō (Japanese, 1743-1812). Japan. 1847. Set of four woodblock printed books; ink and color on paper. Edo period (1615-1868). Illustrated Books

Cotton Roses and Sparrow, from an untitled series of Large Flowers. Katsushika Hokusai ; Japanese, 1760-1849. Date: 1828-1838. Dimensions: 25.1 x 37.1 cm (9 7/8 x 14 5/8 in.). Color woodblock print; oban. Origin: Japan. Museum: The Chicago Art Institute, Chicago, USA.

Finch on Magnolia Branch, c. 1835, Utagawa Hiroshige; Publisher: Kawaguchiya Shōzō, Japanese, 1797 - 1858, 15 1/16 × 5 1/16 in. (38.2 × 12.9 cm) (image, sheet, chūtanzaku), Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper, Japan, 19th century, In designing his prints of birds and flowers, Hiroshige seems to have been influenced by the work of Shijō school artists, who produced paintings in a spontaneous, simplified manner. Here, for example, the block carver captured the rapid manner in which Hiroshige rendered the slender branch, and the 'boneless' (without outlines) way he depicted the leaves. The lyrical freshness of this style accords well with the buoyant mood of the poem;

Grasshopper (Kirigirisu); Cicada (Semi), from the Picture Book of Crawling Creatures (Ehon mushi erami) 1788 Kitagawa Utamaro Japanese Ehon mushi erami (Picture Book of Crawling Creatures) is illustrated with fifteen designs of insects and other garden creatures by Utamaro. Published by Tsutaya Jūzaburō , the poems were selected and introduced by a preface written by the poet and scholar Yadoya no Meshimori (Rokujuen; 1753-1830), who later became head of the influential Go-gawa poetry group. Several of the top kyōka poets of the day were invited to contribute.. Grasshopper (Kirigirisu); Cicada (Semi), from the Picture Book of Crawling Creatures (Ehon mushi erami) 37295

Landscape Painted on the Double Ninth Festival dated 1705 Shitao (Zhu Ruoji) Chinese Shitao painted this landscape for a young friend who visited him on the ninth day of the ninth lunar montha festival traditionally celebrated by mountain climbing. Suddenly struck by his own old age, Shitao wrote this inscription:The days when I go climbing are few now and my walking staff no longer helps me.. When you were young, I was already in my prime; but suddenly, you are a man and I am old. The passage of time plays tricks on people; like mist or the moon, it cannot be trusted. The future is like a cloud or traces of decaying grasshow can one fathom it?(trans. Wen Feng)Shitao's painting is like a fleeting vision glimpsed through fog. As the fog lifts, an approaching skiff heralds the arrival of Shitao's friend, whose coming has the effect of clearing weather on the spirits of the housebound artist. Filling the sky above, Shitao's dedicatory poem is written in a buoyantly rhythmic version of "

Visiting a Friend 1892 Seki Shūkō Japanese. Visiting a Friend 54737

Poem with autumn flowers, 1804 First page of part two of Utamaro`s book: Events in the pleasure houses during the year. Or paper color woodcut

Rising Sun and Cock and Hen ca. 1800 Totoya Hokkei Japanese. Rising Sun and Cock and Hen 54093

Bird and gentian. Utagawa Hiroshige ; Japanese, 1797-1858. Date: 1830-1840. Dimensions: 17.9 x 12.8 cm (7 x 5 in.). Color woodblock print; yotsugiriban. Origin: Japan. Museum: The Chicago Art Institute, USA.

Landscape with great pine second quarter of the 13th century Ma Lin Chinese The reductionist transformation from Northern Song monumental landscapes to symbolic images of single rocks and trees is complete with the work of Ma Lin. Ma's painting turns away from the realism of earlier Song Imperial Painting Academy works in favor of a new abstraction. In the absence of an accompanying poem, the meaning of this complex scene remains unclear. The Daoist-inspired imagery seems to hold out the promise of transcendence or escape. Outdoor altars are places of worship and meditation, cranes are known as the vehicles and companions of Daoist immortals, the evergreen pine is an emblem of longevity, and the full moon recalls the palace of the moon goddess, Chang E, whose hare prepares the elixir of immortality. Yet the immortals have not come, and the moon is far away. The figure is anchored to this world and can no more reach the moon than can the outstretched branches of the pine. There is a sen

Potted adonis with writing implements 1800 Japan. Color woodblock print; surimono . Hishikawa Sori III

Primroses. Kubo Shunman; Japanese, 1757-1820. Date: 1810-1819. Dimensions: 20.8 x 18.3 cm. Color woodblock print; shikishiban, surimono. Origin: Japan. Museum: The Chicago Art Institute, USA.

Pear Blossom from a Flower Album of Ten Leaves, 1656, Xiang Shengmo, Chinese, 1597-1658, 12 1/8 x 9 1/16 in. (30.8 x 23 cm), Ink and color on paper, China, 17th century, Xiang Shengmo was born into one of the most prestigious families in Jiaxing, a city in northeastern China. When the Manchu invasion reached Jiaxing, in 1645, many of Xiangs friends and relatives died in a vain attempt to save their city. His homestead was destroyed and his familys art collections lost. Following this upheaval, Xiangs painting changed from an amateur, literati pursuit, becoming a source of income. Xiang was at the height of his technical and expressive powers when he created this album, featuring a wide range of flowers including wintersweet, cockscomb, apricot, pear, daylily, and cassia. He worked here in pure color without ink outlines and in shaded brushstrokes, which give the impression of three-dimensional modeling.

Tangerine and Chinese Legend 1871 Japan. This print is a finely produced summer scene with a tangerine and nuts on embossed chrysanthemum-design paper. The upper-left edge shows a piece of paper from the back, cleverly indicating the paper on which the objects were placed.The paper (with its characters in reverse) describes the biography of the Chinese hero Baili Xi, who was an influential prime minister of the state of Qin during the Spring and Autumn Period in ancient China. With the guidance of Baili, the Qin state was able to wage war and make peace with its neighbors, becoming the greatest power in the west. As on who combined learning and statesmanship, Baili thus became a hero for the literati of the Far East.. Color woodblock print; surimono . Kosei

Kameyama; No 47. Kaweyawa: One of the Fifty-Three Noted Places on Tokaido, Painted by Hiroshige; Hiroshige's Tôkeidô; Hiroshige No Fude Tôkaidô. Travelers from the Tôkaidô climb a snowy mountain.

Mustard Seed Garden, a Chinese Painter's Manual Mustard Seed Garden, a Chinese Painter's Manual, 1782. Woodblock printed book, ink and color on paper, Each: 11 3/4 x 6 13/16 x 3/16 in. (29.8 x 17.3 x 0.5 cm). Asian Art 1782

Tatsuta, from the series Pictures of No Performances (Nogaku Zue) 1893-1903 Japan. Color woodblock print . Tsukioka Kôgyo

Number four from the Tokaido; Tokai Yon; Clipping tables of the Tokaido; Tokaido Harimaze Zue. Leaf with five small prints referring to stations of the Tokaido. Yoshiwara: a seawolf in deep blue water; KANBARA: The priest Saigyo looking at the Fuji mountain; Yui: Two Sasai shells; Hara: Princess Kagayu behind a tree; Okitsu: Face on the coast and sea of Shiohama.

Reverberations of Taiga, Volume 2 (leaf 8), mid- to late 1700s. Aoki Shukuya (Japanese, d. 1802). Pair of albums; ink, or ink and light color on paper; album, closed: 28.3 x 33 cm (11 1/8 x 13 in.). Traditionally, young painters in Japan began their studies with an established master-painter. The master's compositions invariably became models that the apprentice copied to learn various ink and brush techniques. Shukuya was a pupil of the famous Kyoto artist Ikeno Taiga, whose style is reflected in these sketches of rocks, trees, and mountains.

Horsefly (abu); Green Caterpillar, imomushi, from the Picture Book of Crawling Creatures (Ehon mushi erami). Artist: Kitagawa Utamaro (Japanese, ca. 1754-1806). Culture: Japan. Dimensions: 10 1/2 x 7 7/32 in. (26.7 x 18.4 cm). Date: 1788.Ehon mushi erami (Picture Book of Crawling Creatures) is illustrated with fifteen designs of insects and other garden creatures by Utamaro. Published by Tsutaya Juzaburo , the poems were selected and introduced by a preface written by the poet and scholar Yadoya no Meshimori (Rokujuen; 1753-1830), who later became head of the influential Go-gawa poetry group. Several of the top kyoka poets of the day were invited to contribute. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

Drawings by the Drunken Fuyo (Gazu sui Fuyo). Artist: Suzuki Fuyo (Japanese, 1749-1816). Culture: Japan. Dimensions: 10 13/16 × 7 5/16 in. (27.5 × 18.5 cm). Date: 1809. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

Camellia with Sweets Box (Yokan) Hanzan Matsukawa (Japanese, died 1882). , ca. 1860. Woodblock print; horizontal Chûban yoko-e format, 7 1/16 x 9 3/4 in. (17.9 x 24.8 cm). Asian Art ca. 1860

Landscape after Ma Yuan (active ca. 1190-1225), from the Mustard Seed Garden Manual of Painting First edition, 1679 Designed by Wang Gai In 1679, the author Li Yu published a primer for aspiring landscape painters called the Mustard Seed Garden Manual of Painting, and he commissioned the versatile painter Wang Gai to provide designs for the illustrations. The first edition features volumes on the components of landscape paintingtrees, rocks, and human figureswith instructions on how to draw different types of each. It also includes two volumes of landscapes in the styles of old masters, which show readers how to transform what they have learned into their own historically minded compositions.The manual transmitted the fashion for studying old masters' styles beyond the rarified elite circles that had given rise to the practice, and it went on to become the most widely used introduction to painting not only in China, but in Korea and Japan as well. Subsequent editions added flowers as

The Poetess Gishumon-in no Tango, from the series The Thirty-six Immortal Women Poets (Nishikizuri onna sanjurokkasen) 1756-1806 Japan. Page from a color woodblock-printed volume . Chôbunsai Eishi

. The print is a B copy. The band at the top of the print is on the original blue instead of brown. With one poem.

Pheasant and chrysanthemums. Utagawa Hiroshige ; Japanese, 1797-1858. Date: 1830-1839. Dimensions: 37.5 x 16.7 cm (14 3/4 x 6 1/2 in.). Color woodblock print; otanzaku. Origin: Japan. Museum: The Chicago Art Institute, USA.

Mustard Seed Garden, a Chinese Painter's Manual Mustard Seed Garden, a Chinese Painter's Manual, 1782. Woodblock printed book, ink and color on paper, Each: 11 3/4 x 6 13/16 x 3/16 in. (29.8 x 17.3 x 0.5 cm). Asian Art 1782

Flowers Flowers, 19th century. Ink and light color on paper, mounted on cloth, 69 3/8 x 76 in. (176.2 x 193.0 cm). Asian Art 19th century

Page from Shi Zhu Zhai China. Page from Shi Zhu Zhai. China. Polychrome woodblock print; ink and color on paper. Qing dynasty (1644-1911), Kangxi period (1662-1722). Prints

Gazing at a Waterfall, early 1500s. Sōami (Japanese, d. 1525). Hanging scroll; ink and slight color on paper; image: 29 x 30.1 cm (11 7/16 x 11 7/8 in.); overall: 113 x 47.6 cm (44 1/2 x 18 3/4 in.).

Mountain Hermitage in Summer Wang Wen (Chinese, 1497-1576). Mountain Hermitage in Summer, 16th century. Hanging scroll, ink on paper, overall: 93 x 30 3/16 in., 35 in. with rollers. Asian Art 16th century

Mustard Seed Garden, a Chinese Painter's Manual Mustard Seed Garden, a Chinese Painter's Manual, 1782. Woodblock printed book, ink and color on paper, Each: 11 3/4 x 6 13/16 x 3/16 in. (29.8 x 17.3 x 0.5 cm). Asian Art 1782

Yoshitsune's Encounter with Princess Joruri, from "The Tale of Joruri in Twelve Episodes (Joruri Junidan Zoshi)". Sugimura Jihei; Japanese, active c. 1681-98. Date: 1679-1709. Dimensions: 30.2 x 57.3 cm. Hand-colored woodblock print; o-oban, sumizuri-e. Origin: Japan. Museum: The Chicago Art Institute, Chicago, USA.

Flowers. Artist: Yang Jin, Chinese, 1644-1726

Landscape with Pavilion 1478-80 Kenkō Shōkei 江祥啓 A Chinese gentleman lounges against the parapet of a remote lakeside pavilion, his gaze captured by a waterfall plunging from precipitous peaks far above. The poetic inscription brushed by Tōgen Zuisen, a prominent Zen monk, ties the painted image to an ancient Chinese hermit who famously turned down a position at court in favor of spending his days fishing in isolation. Tōgen was an acquaintance of the artist, Kenkō Shōkei, a fellow Zen monk who journeyed from Kamakura to Kyoto in 1478 to study Chinese painting for three years. During that time he created this landscape, his earliest known datable work, in the style of the Chinese painter Xia Gui (active ca. 1195-1230), whose pictures he had probably only just encountered for the first time in Kyoto.The Chinese verse reads in four seven-character couplets:This world, who possesses it?Tranquil is this place, long separated from the dusty world.An endless cascade soars as if a flock of e

Books and a Bookcase. Artist: Keisai Eisen (Japanese, 1790-1848). Culture: Japan. Dimensions: 7 11/16 x 6 5/8 in. (19.5 x 16.8 cm). Date: 19th century. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA. Author: KEISAI EISEN.

Page from Shi Zhu Zhai China. Page from Shi Zhu Zhai. China. Polychrome woodblock print; ink and color on paper. Qing dynasty (1644-1911), Kangxi period (1662-1722). Prints

The Character for "Heart/Mind" as an Ensō. Daidō Bunka (Japan, 1680-1752). Japan, first half 18th century. Drawings; calligraphy. Hanging scroll; ink on paper

View of Enoshima, Totoya Hokkei, 1821 In a red circle a face on Enoshima in the Sagami province, with the mountain of Fuji in the distance. At the top right a New Year's decoration of straw and ferns (Urajiro). With two poems. Japan paper color woodcut In a red circle a face on Enoshima in the Sagami province, with the mountain of Fuji in the distance. At the top right a New Year's decoration of straw and ferns (Urajiro). With two poems. Japan paper color woodcut

New Sea of the Arts - 23; Shin Bijutsukai - Nijusan. Part 23 (of 35); Blue cover with image of pink stylized kimono; In the mid top, title; 10 sheets with 20 pattern designs, of which on the first page an image of flowering water lilies with purple and green leaves; inside cover; Colophon.

Purple shell, freshwater clams and a turban shell Murasakigai shijimi sazae (title on object) A series of shells (series title) Kaitsukushi (series title on object), A large turban shovel (sazae) with three freshwater clams and smaller shells. With two poems, molluscs (shell, snail shell etc.), Totoya Hokkei (mentioned on object), Japan, 1821, paper, colour woodcut, h 205 mm × w 178 mm

Three scenes a landscape, a bird and the moon, the devil Oni HIROSHIGE, Ichiryusai (1797 1858)

Hollyhocks. Origin: China. Period: Qing dynasty. Ink and color on silk. Date: 18th century. Museum: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery.

Designs for Leather. Artist: Kubo Shunman (Japanese, 1757-1820). Culture: Japan. Dimensions: 5 3/8 x 7 3/16 in. (13.7 x 18.3 cm). Date: 19th century. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

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