Japanese Narrative Art

Traditional Japanese prints depicting cultural figures and stories, blending elements of poetry and visual storytelling in vibrant compositions.

Kanjo | Library of Congress

Yui, from the series "Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido (Gojusan tsugi)," also known as the Figure Tokaido (Jinbutsu Tokaido). Utagawa Hiroshige ; Japanese, 1797-1858. Date: 1852. Dimensions: 25.4 x 18.1 cm (10 x 7 1/8 in.). Color woodblock print; chuban. Origin: Japan. Museum: The Chicago Art Institute, USA.

Self-Portrait as a Fisherman 1830-1840 Japan. Color woodblock print with metallic pigments; surimono shikishiban . Katsushika Hokusai

Wang Pu (O ho), from the series Twenty-four Paragons of Filial Piety in China (Morokoshi nijushiko) 1843-1855 Japan. Color woodblock print; chuban . Utagawa Kuniyoshi

Yu Qianlou (Jp Yu Kinro), from the series Twenty-four Paragons of Filial Piety (Nijushiko) 1820-1840 Japan. Color woodblock print; shikishiban, surimono . Totoya Hokkei

Sagara TOTOMI NO KAMI ZICH VERSCHUILEND ACHTER Een Stapel Tatami Matten., TSUKIOKA YOSHITOSHI, 1868 print Sagara totomi no kami with raised sword, for a pile of tatami mats. A pine in the foreground. paper color woodcut hiding, hiding oneself. hacking and thrusting weapons: sword. trees: pine

Chidori no tamagawa, Plovers at Tamagawa., Kubo, Shunman, 1757-1820, artist, between 1780 and 1820, 1 print : woodcut, color., Print shows three women(?) watching plovers dive over the Tama River.

Takakura Moon - Hasebe Nobutsura, Yoshitoshi, Tsukioka

Minamoto NO Muneyuki Ason, 1845-1846 print Canawa gorô imakuni pour toxic sake over chrysanthemums. Scene from a kabukitis piece. Poem by Minamoto No Muneyuki Ason. paper color woodcut poisoner. flowers. pouring

Urashima Taro Returning Home from the Palace of the Dragon King (Urashima Taro no ko kikoku ju Ryugujo no zu) 1886 Japan. Color woodblock print; oban diptych . Tsukioka Yoshitoshi

The Actors Ichimura Kamezo I as Sengokuya Ihei and Sanogawa Ichimatsu I as his wife Omatsu in the play "Kashiwa ga Toge Kichirei no Sumo," performed at Ichimura Theater in the eleventh month, 1755. Torii Kiyohiro; Japanese, active c. 1737-76. Date: 1755. Dimensions: 16 3/4 x 11 3/4 in. Color woodblock print; oban, benizuri-e. Origin: Japan. Museum: The Chicago Art Institute, Chicago, USA.

Actors Attending Memorial for Arashi Rikan III. Mori Yoshiyuki (Nansuitei Yoshiyuki); Japanese, 1835-1879. Date: 1863. Dimensions: . Color woodblock print; chuban diptych. Origin: Japan. Museum: The Chicago Art Institute, Chicago, USA.

ONO NO KOMACHI VRAAGT OM Water: Ichikawa DanjûRô OP EEN BOOT, Utagawa Kuniyasu, C. 1830 -C. 1835 The actor Ichikiawa Danjûrô VII (1791-1859) in his spare time, standing on a boat with a pipe in hand. The poem of Shakuyakutei speaks about 'Sasou Mizu', asking for water, a well -known phrase from a poem by Ono No Komachi. The six classic poets, including Komachi, were chosen in the preface of the Kokinwakashû, an anthology of poets from the past and present. With two poems. Japan paper color woodcut

Panicking Townspeople. After Toba Sōjō (Japan, 1053-1140). Japan, circa 1760. Prints; woodblocks. Page from a woodblock printed book

The Actors Yamashita Kinsaku II and Segawa Kikunojo II 1752-1762 Japan. Color woodblock print; hosoban, benizuri-e . Torii Kiyohiro

Meeting of a Poetry Club 1855-1865 Japan. In this print, the artist Fujii Teisa presented a charming view of a gathering of poets, who drink, converse, and read poetry while seated on a red blanket. This idealized view of such a gathering is based on older visual prototypes, and Teisa took this image from a model drawn by Taniguchi Gesso (1773ñ1865), who specialized in figural sketches.Teisa was a haiku poet and follower of Suganuma Kushibuchi (1747ñ1834), from whom he took the name Hananoya, with which he signed this work. By signing the poem to the far left, he also marked himself as the host of this particular gathering.. Color woodblock print, surimono . Fujii Teisa

Yashima Gakutei was a Japanese artist and poet who was a pupil of both Totoya Hokkei and Hokusai. Gakutei is best known for his kyoka poetry and surimono woodblock works.

The Koya Jewel River in Kii Province (Kii Koya no Tamagawa), from an untitled series of Six Jewel Rivers. Rekisentei Eiri; Japanese, active c. 1781-1818. Date: 1780-1790. Dimensions: 21.9 x 32.1 cm (8 9/16 x 12 5/8 in.). Color woodblock print; aiban. Origin: Japan. Museum: The Chicago Art Institute, USA.

Self-Portrait as a Fisherman. Katsushika Hokusai ; Japanese, 1760-1849. Date: 1830-1840. Dimensions: 21.3 x 18.43 cm. Color woodblock print with metallic pigments; surimono shikishiban. Origin: Japan. Museum: The Chicago Art Institute, Chicago, USA.

Leizhen (Raishin) and the Wind and Thunder Gods. Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (Japan, 1839-1892). Japan, 1865, 6th month. Prints; woodblocks. Color woodblock print

A man demonstrating an orrery (a model of the solar system) to two girls and another man. Woodcut by Sukenobu, 1758.

Yamato Takeru no Mikoto with Bow. Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (Japan, 1839-1892). Japan, circa 1876. Prints; woodblocks. Color woodblock print

Right-Hand Page: The Actors Bando Hikosaburo III as Soga no Goro (right), and Segawa Kikunojo IV as Onna Asahina (left), in the Play Ume-goyomi Akebono Soga; Left-hand Sheet: The Actors Onoe Matsusuke I as Furugori Shinzaemon (left), and Ichikawa Danjuro V and Kagekiyo (right) in the Play Hatsumombi Kuruwa Soga, Performed at the Nakamura Theater in the First Month, 1780. Katsukawa Shunko I; Japanese, 1743-1812. Date: 1775-1785. Dimensions: 15 x 32.3 cm (5 7/8 x 12 11/16 in.). Color woodblock print; double-page illustration from a theatrical picture-book. Origin: Japan. Museum: The Chicago Art Institute, Chicago, USA.

Mitsuke Station 28. Shogun Yoritomo Releasing Cranes/Mitsuke, from the series: Fifty Three Parallels for the Tôkaidô Road /Tōkaidō gojūsan tsui Utagawa, kuniyoshi (1797 1861)

Two Courtesans, One Playing a Koto (Harp) and The Other Reading a Letter Kubo Shunman Japanese. Two Courtesans, One Playing a Koto (Harp) and The Other Reading a Letter 54461

The Actors Ichimura Uzaemon VIII, Ichimura Kamezo I as Wankyu, and Nakamura Kiyosaburo I as Matsuyama in the play "Mitsugimono Irifune Nagoya," performed at the Ichimura Theater in the seventh month, 1750. Torii Kiyonobu II; Japanese, active c. 1725-61. Date: 1750. Dimensions: 30.1 x 14.6 cm. Color woodblock print; hosoban, benizuri-e. Origin: Japan. Museum: The Chicago Art Institute, Chicago, USA.

White: Tin Middleman” (Shiro: Suzu nakatsugi), from the series Five Colors of Tea Utensils (Chaki goshiki). Artist: Kubo Shunman, Japanese, 1757-1820

Sleeve-Letter Takasago (Sodefumi Takasago), no 2 from a series of 12 prints depicting parodies of plays 1711-1740 Japan. Hand-colored woodblock print; oban, sumizuri-e . Okumura Masanobu

De Regent Takeuchi No Sukune, Totoya Hokkei, C. 1822 print Take no uchi no sukune shows the imperial child ojin the two pearls of ebb and flow on a table. With two poems. Japan paper color woodcut fashion designer. table. infant, baby ~ the ages of man

Fuchu, from the series Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido (Gojusan tsugi), also known as the Figure Tokaido (Jinbutsu Tokaido) 1852 Japan. Color woodblock print; chuban . Utagawa Hiroshige

Chinese Materia Dietetica, Ming: Summer ice

Girl Boarding a Boat. Suzuki Harunobu ; Japanese, 1725 ()-1770. Date: 1762-1770. Dimensions: 28.5 x 21.1 cm. Color woodblock print; chuban. Origin: Japan. Museum: The Chicago Art Institute, USA.

Karukaya Dōshin Refusing to Recognize Ishidōmaru. Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (Japan, 1839-1892). Japan, 1881, May. Prints; woodblocks. Color woodblock print

Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839 - 9 June 1892) one of the last great masters of the classical Japanese colour woodcut, here the work Moon of the Filial Son, Ono no Takamura

Young Man on a Horse 1711-1785 Japan. Color woodblock print; oban . Ishikawa Toyonobu

The poet. .

Japan, Utagaki Magao, Yomo no, Monoyana, Shûchôdô, Komendo, Goyûken, Kinrachi, Zeniya, Shitami, Jôsuitei, Hokusai, Katsushika, Poet reading a poem, A poet in formal attire sits behind a low table and reads a poem from the poetry strip in his hands. The emblem on his clothing, a stylized fan, indicates that this is the poet Jôsuitei Shitami. Plum blossoms in the background. With five poems., print, prent, surimono, prints, Japan (collection), height 137 mm, width 175 mm, 1760-10-12 - 1849-05-10, print maker, printmaker, 1797 - 1797, first quarter 19th century, paper, colour woodcut, Japanese, poet, 1761, 1753 - 1829

Moreau, inventor from Frans Porcelein. A man gets a chair in moots to be able to burn an oven. His wife and children look frightened. The Japanese text tells how the Frenchman Moreau beaten his own furniture because of his experiments with making porcelain. (Yokohama-e).

Three actors in the roles of musicians an actor from the ONOE family as a woman, Ichimura Uzamon, Ichikawa Kodanji IV Kunichika, UTAGAWA (1835 1900)

Sonobe Saemon with a poem ono no Komachi, No. 9 from the series "Imitation of the collection from Ogura - one poem from a hundred poets" (Ogura Nazorae hyakunin ISSHU)Dembiński, Stanisław (1891-1940)-collection, decorative boards according to the anthology of a hundred poets, cycle, gift for the museum, Japanese art, MNW collection, ukiyo-e, cherries

Go to Takaoyama to see Maple Leaves having Twelve Points ca. 1690 Hishikawa Moronobu Japanese. Go to Takaoyama to see Maple Leaves having Twelve Points. Hishikawa Moronobu (Japanese, 1630/31-1694). Japan. ca. 1690. Woodblock print; ink and color on paper. Edo period (1615-1868). Prints

Portrait of Hôjô ujiyasu, Daimmy Odawara Hôjô; End of the 18th century (1801-00-00-1850-00-00);Koreywo, Olgierd (1909-1977) - collection, gift (provenance), woodcuts

Statue of an OS, Ryûryûkyo Shinsai, 1817 A statue in black stone from a horizontal OS (Nadeushi) on a pile of pillows on two boxes. There are large and small silver coins on the floor; The big coins indicate the long months of the new year of the OS, the small coins in the short months. Merchants often had a statue of an OS like Talisman. By stroking it daily, they hoped for fulfilling their wishes. When this actually happened, an extra pillow was placed under the statue. With four poems. Japan paper color woodcut ox

Scene in Gekkyuden - Dream of the Moon Palace 1831 Totoya Hokkei Japanese. Scene in Gekkyuden - Dream of the Moon Palace 54226

Famous Products from Mountain and Sea vol. 2, 1754, Hasegawa Mitsunobu, Japanese, act. c.1720s-1750s, 9 7/8 x 7 x 3/16 in. (25.1 x 17.8 x 0.5 cm), Woodblock printed book; ink on paper, Japan, 18th century

Ouchiyama, from the series "Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido (Tokaido gojusan tsugi)". Katsushika Hokusai ; Japanese, 1760-1849. Date: 1801-1811. Dimensions: Approx. 24 × 18.3 cm. Color woodblock print; chuban. Origin: Japan. Museum: The Chicago Art Institute, Chicago, USA.

Court Carriage 19th century Kubo Shunman Japanese. Court Carriage 54685

The Syllable He’ (Ariwara no Narihira Seeing Snow on Mt. Fuji)

A Poster for the Ichimura Theatre (Ichimuraza tsuji banzuke). Torii Kiyomasu II; Japanese, 1706 ()-1763 (). Date: 1710-1720. Dimensions: 49.0 x 30.5 cm. Hand-colored woodblock print; o-oban, sumizuri-e. Origin: Japan. Museum: The Chicago Art Institute, Chicago, USA.

E-Goyomi (Lady Dressing) E-Goyomi (Lady Dressing), 1790-1792. Color woodblock print on paper, sheet: 5 9/16 x 4 5/8 in. (14.1 x 11.8 cm). Asian Art 1790-1792

The Suetsumuhana Chapter from The Tale of Genji (Genji Suetsumuhana), from a series of Genji parodies 1705-1715 Japan. Woodblock print; oban, sumizuri-e . Okumura Masanobu

Mount Atago, Shiba (Shiba Atagoyama), from the series One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (Meisho Edo hyakkei)” 1857 Japan. Color woodblock print; oban . Utagawa Hiroshige

'Nine Sons Fighting for the Plum Blossom 'Mae''. China, late 19th - early 20th century. Dimensions: 63x107 cm. Museum: State Hermitage, St. Petersburg.

Hamamatsu, from the series Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido (Tokaido gojusan tsugi) 1801-1811 Japan. Color woodblock print; chuban . Katsushika Hokusai

Eggplants in a Basket. Artist: Totoya Hokkei (Japanese, 1780-1850). Culture: Japan. Dimensions: 7 1/8 x 6 11/16 in. (18.1 x 17 cm). Date: 19th century. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

Hamamatsu, from the series "Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido (Tokaido gojusan tsugi)". Katsushika Hokusai ; Japanese, 1760-1849. Date: 1801-1811. Dimensions: Approx. 24 × 18.3 cm. Color woodblock print; chuban. Origin: Japan. Museum: The Chicago Art Institute, Chicago, USA.

Autumn Moon at the Temple Ishiyamadera. Suzuki Harunobu (Japan, circa 1725-1770). Japan, circa 1768. Prints; woodblocks. Color woodblock print

Kintar Struggling with the Giant Carp (Kintar to Koi). Artist: Totoya Hokkei, Japanese, 1780-1850

Court Lovers Exchanging Poems. Kubo Shunman (Japan, Tokyo, 1757-1820). Japan, circa 1811. Prints; woodblocks. Color woodblock print; surimono

Illustrated News of Great Japan, Issue 1, 1875 - 1900, Woodcuts, Color, Paper / Sheet Size 14 9/16 x 9 9/16 in. (37 x 24.3 cm)

Cat Pawing at Goldfish. Isoda Koryusai; Japanese, 1735-1790. Date: 1770-1774. Dimensions: 19.7 cm x 26.6 cm (10 1/2 x 7 3/4 in.). Color woodblock print; chuban. Origin: Japan. Museum: The Chicago Art Institute, USA.

Forty-eight Instructive Poems in Alphabetical Order 1788 Suzuki Harunobu Japanese. Forty-eight Instructive Poems in Alphabetical Order. Suzuki Harunobu (Japanese, 1725-1770). Japan. 1788. Three volumes; ink on paper. Edo period (1615-1868). Illustrated Books

Kato Kyomasa taking his last look at Fuji on the way to Korea., 1822. Woodcuts., Surimono

Secret meeting, sheet 24 from the series: the lovely love adventures of the Maneemon. Donation Gerhard Schack

. The statesman and calligraft Ono No Tôfû, or Michikaze (894-966) is a red lacquered table. In the tradition of calligraphy, Tôfû is most appreciated for his development of Chinese characters in Japanese style. This print is a copy from the Meiji period (1868-1912) and misses the titles on the print. With three poems instead of two poems in the original.

Five scenes on one board swallow, horse, woman, landscape, tea utensils

Utagawa Kunisada (1786 January 12, 1865) was the most popular, prolific and financially successful designer of ukiyo-e woodblock prints in 19th-century Japan. In his own time, his reputation far exceeded that of his contemporaries, Hokusai, Hiroshige and Kuniyoshi. A speciality was bijin, or woodblock prints of beautiful women, as here.

Jugo osho, No. 15 Osho (Wang Xiang)., Kitao, Shigemasa, 1739-1820, artist, between 1772 and 1774, 1 print : woodcut, color ; 21.9 x 15.5 cm., Print shows Wang Xiang as a child outdoors with two fish on a frozen river in a snow covered landscape.

Shiraku Kichigyo, 1802, Woodcuts

Chinese woodcut, Famous medical figures: Sun Simiao

Su Liupeng (1796-1862). "Eight album sheets". Ink and colors on paper. Paris, Cernuschi museum. Sitting, album, color on paper, color on paper, ink, print, leaf, man, ink, sheet, sitting, color, engraving, man

Monkeys. Artist: Kawanabe Kyosai (Japanese, 1831-1889). Culture: Japan. Dimensions: 14 1/4 x 10 7/8 in. (36.2 x 27.6 cm). Date: March 1888. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

Hiratsuka, from the series The Tokaido in Fifty-Three Pairs. Date: 1845. Dimensions: 37 cm x 25 cm. Museum: Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam. Author: UTAGAWA HIROSHIGE.

Japan, Shushintei, Umekage, Shôtarô, Hokuga, Karyôsai, Yôrô no kôfu, The Yôrô waterfall, verso - stamped, A woodcutter with a bundle of wood on his back, next to a waterfall. The woodcutter Kôsagi tried to provide his parents with rice wine (sake) every day, until one day he had no money and filled a gourd with the water of the Yôrô waterfall. The gods changed the water into sake to reward his obedience. With two poems., surimono, prints, enten, Japan (collection), height 205 mm, width 180 mm, Japanese, print maker, entenmaker, 1820 - 1829, first quarter 19th century, second quarter 19th century, paper, colour woodcut, blind stamping, poet

Drum, Anonymous, 1850 - 1860 print A drum is on a purple piece of cloth, with a ludging text at 'Onderweg'. paper color woodcut drum (musical instrument). oriental ideographic script (Chinese, Korean, Japanese)

Gishi Shozo Sanshi (Annotated Portraits of Loyal Retainers) Gishi Shozo Sanshi (Annotated Portraits of Loyal Retainers), 1850. Paper, 10 3/8 x 7 in. (26.4 x 17.8 cm). Asian Art 1850

Hara, from the series Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido (Tokaido gojusan tsugi) 1801-1811 Japan. Color woodblock print; chuban . Katsushika Hokusai

Mother and Child by Gourd Trellis in Moonlight Shigenobu (Japanese). Mother and Child by Gourd Trellis in Moonlight, 1890-1899. Color woodblock print on paper, 8 1/2 x 7 1/8 in. (21.6 x 18.1 cm). Asian Art 1890-1899

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

Ogura imitation of the one hundred poems. Hofdame Iga No Tsubone sees the spirit of Sasaki No Kiyotaka, in the form of a mysterious bird, on the branch of a pine tree. Scene from a Kabukite team. Poem by Taira No Kanemori.

Chinese Materia Dietetica, Ming: Sweet dew

The Jewel River at Chofu (Chofu no Tamagawa), from an untitled series of Six Jewel Rivers 1761-1770 Japan. Color woodblock print; chuban . Suzuki Harunobu

Chinese hero on a boat fighting a dragon HOKKEI, TOTOYA (1780 1850)

Fukuroi, from the series Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido (Gojusan tsugi), also known as the Figure Tokaido (Jinbutsu Tokaido) 1852 Japan. Color woodblock print; chuban . Utagawa Hiroshige

Portrait of Zhu Yizun, late 17th-early 18th century, Yu Zhiding, Chinese, 1647 - c. 1713, 30 5/8 × 16 7/16 in. (77.79 × 41.75 cm) (image)78 3/8 × 24 7/16 in. (199.07 × 62.07 cm) (overall, without roller), Ink and color on paper, China, 17th-18th century, Yu Zhiding, the painter of this intriguing portrait, was born in Yangzhou, Jiangsu province, and became widely known as the pre-eminent portraitist of his day. Yu imbued each of his portraits of eminent officials, scholars, poets, and artists with realistic faces, while also including subtle and oblique allusions that place them effectively within the larger social, economic, and cultural context. In this painting, Yu painted Zhu Yizun (1629-1709), a renowned scholar, official, poet, and bibliophile. The sitter, siting in a landscaped garden, looks out at us directly, with a confident, self-contained air, alerting us to his high status. Some influence from the Western approach to painting is visible in the use of shadow and color to mo

Archers, 1817, Katsushika Hokusai, Japanese, 1760 - 1849, 7 7/8 x 5 5/16 in. (20 x 13.5 cm) (sheet), From a woodblock printed book; ink and color on paper, Japan, 19th century

Illustrated Ghost Stories, 1788, Hosoda Eishi; Publisher: Tsutaya Jūzaburō, Japanese, 1756 - 1829, 6 7/8 x 5 1/8 x 1/2 in. (17.4 x 13 x 1.2 cm), Woodblock printed book; ink on paper, Japan, 18th century

Okazaki, Fujikawa, Narumi, and Chiryu, no. 10 from the series "Cutouts of the Fifty-three Stations (Gojusan tsugi harimaze)". Utagawa Hiroshige ; Japanese, 1797-1858. Date: 1852. Dimensions: 37.2 x 25.6 cm (14 5/8 x 9 7/8 in.). Color woodblock print; oban, harimaze. Origin: Japan. Museum: The Chicago Art Institute, USA.

Japan, Kunisada (I), Utagawa, Saddle and water spoon, Still life with black lacquer saddle and a spoon to give water to the horse, made for the new year of the horse, 1834. The long months of the year are indicated in gold on the saddle and the short months on the spoon., print, surimono, egoyomi (calendar sheet), prints, Japan (collection), height 137 mm, width 185 mm, Japanese, 1786 - 1865, print maker, printmaker, 1799 - 1799, fourth quarter 18th century, paper, colour woodcut

Yang Xiang (Yo Kyo), from the series Twenty-four Paragons of Filial Piety in China (Morokoshi nijushiko) 1843-1855 Japan. Color woodblock print; chuban . Utagawa Kuniyoshi

Huang Xiang (Ko Kyo), from the series Twenty-four Paragons of Filial Piety in China (Morokoshi nijushiko) 1843-1855 Japan. Color woodblock print; chuban . Utagawa Kuniyoshi

Onamushi no Mikoto Killing the Great Bird. Artist Unknown; Japanese. Date: 1761-1769. Dimensions: 9 1/8 x 12 1/8 in. Color woodblock print; chuban yoko-e. Origin: Japan. Museum: The Chicago Art Institute, Chicago, USA.

The 'wild woman' shown here appears to be an aquatic humanoid with scaly skin, webbed hands and feet (each with three fingers and toes), long black hair, and a large red mouth. People claim to have encountered the creature in the 1750s in mountain streams in the Asakura area of Fukuoka prefecture. The Kaikidan Ekotoba is a mid-19th century handscroll that profiles 33 legendary monsters and human oddities, mostly from the Kyushu region of Japan, but with several from other countries, including China, Russia and Korea. The document, whose author is unknown, is in the possession of the Fukuoka City Museum.

Cartoon, Two precautions are better than one. A rich and fashionable young woman goes out with two escorts, a rich Swedish man and a rich Dutchman. They all seem blissfully unaffected by the ongoing war, though they may well have made money from it. Date: 1917

Painting on glass a woman over a stream and a goddess on a cloud unknown

Chu tenjiku Maruka koku shussho daizo zuPicture of an Elephant Born in Maruka in Central India. Artist: Ichiryusai Yoshitoyo (Japanese, 1830-1866). Culture: Japan. Dimensions: Image: 14 1/8 x 9 1/2 in. (35.9 x 24.1 cm). Date: 2nd month, 1863. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA. Author: Ichiryusai Yoshitoyo.

Tengu Messengers Colliding in Midair. Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (Japan, 1839-1892). Japan, 1882, May. Prints; woodblocks. Color woodblock print

China: 'Playing the Flute'. Ink painting by Ren Yi (1840-1896), c. 1860-1880. Ren Yi (1840-1896), also known as Ren Bonian, was a Chinese painter born in Zhejiang during the Qing Dynasty era. He moved to Shanghai in 1855 after the death of his father, which exposed him to Western thinking within a more urban environment. He became a member of the Shanghai School, fusing popular and traditional styles. He is sometimes referred to as one of the 'Four Rens'.

Grooms and Foreign Horses 17th-18th century After Jin Nong Chinese Jin Nong, a noted scholar, connoisseur, and calligrapher, took up painting around the age of fifty after his failure, in 1736, to be recruited as an official. Jin's paintings of horses, dated examples of which all come from 1760-61, are a poignant expression of his frustrated political ambitions, as he makes clear in his accompanying poems, which draw upon the well-established metaphor that an aptitude for recognizing fine horses was akin to an ability to judge and select men for government service. In this powerfully eccentric painting, Jin's intentionally awkward and self-consciously archaic revival of a composition and theme associated with Zhao Mengfu (1254-1322), a Chinese scholar whose service under the Mongols led to a number of positive reforms, makes clear Jin's aspiration to perform a similar function under the Manchu Qing dynasty. Inscribed with a poem that bemoans the absence of a worthy judge of horses, the

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