Japanese Woodblock Prints

Colorful woodblock prints depicting scenes of court life and traditional Japanese figures, highlighting cultural themes of honor and art from the early 19th century.

Twenty-four Japanese examples of filial piety for the Honors (series title), Two noblemen in court greet each other. Through the opened doors you can see a second room in which two seated noblemen. The Sand and Pebble Collection (Shasekishû) is an anthology of 134 humorous Buddhist stories compiled between 1279 and 1283 by the monk Mujû (1226-1312). With one poem., Yashima Gakutei (mentioned on object), Japan, 1820 - 1825, paper, colour woodcut, h 202 mm × w 181 mm

Numazu: Shinra Saburo (Minamoto no Yoshimitsu), section of sheet no. 3 from the series "Cutouts of the Fifty-three Stations (Gojusan tsugi harimaze)". Utagawa Hiroshige ; Japanese, 1797-1858. Date: 1852. Dimensions: 14.8 x 16.4 cm (5 3/4 x 6 5/16 in.). Color woodblock print; section of harimaze sheet. Origin: Japan. Museum: The Chicago Art Institute, USA.

Chinese C18 woodcut: External medicine - Swallow's nest' sore

Illustrated Book of Kyōka (comic poems) "Maple Bridge" ca. 1790 Katsukawa Shunchō Japanese. Illustrated Book of Kyōka (comic poems) "Maple Bridge". Katsukawa Shunchō (Japanese, active ca. 1783-95). Japan. ca. 1790. Ink on paper. Edo period (1615-1868). Illustrated Books

Cricket and fireflies on polygonum and already, 1788 Page 7b and 8a in part one of the Insect Book of Utamaro. Or paper color woodcut

Branch of Plum Blossoms and Bowl. Artist: Ryuryukyo Shinsai (Japanese, active ca. 1799-1823). Culture: Japan. Dimensions: 4 1/8 x 5 11/16 in. (10.5 x 14.4 cm). Date: 19th century. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

Du Fu was a prominent Chinese poet of the Tang Dynasty. Along with Li Bai (Li Bo), he is frequently called the greatest of the Chinese poets. His greatest ambition was to serve his country as a successful civil servant, but he proved unable to make the necessary accommodations. His life, like the whole country, was devastated by the An Lushan Rebellion of 755, and his last 15 years were a time of almost constant unrest. Although initially he was little known to other writers, his works came to be hugely influential in both Chinese and Japanese literary culture. Of his poetic writing, nearly fifteen hundred poems have been preserved. He has been called the 'Poet-Historian' and the 'Poet-Sage' by Chinese critics, while the range of his work has allowed him to be introduced to Western readers as 'the Chinese Virgil, Horace, Ovid, Shakespeare, Milton, Burns, Wordsworth, Béranger, Hugo or Baudelaire'.

Anonymous / 'Saint (or the Virgin) in Glory'. XVIII century. Black chalk on yellow paper. Museum: Museo del Prado, Madrid, España.

The Hana-no-en Chapter from The Tale of Genji (Genji Hana-no-en), from a series of Genji parodies 1705-1715 Japan. Woodblock print; oban, sumizuri-e . Okumura Masanobu

Reading a Sutra by Moonlight. Artist: Sokuhi Nyoitsu (Jifei Ruyi) (Chinese/ Japanese, 1616-1671). Culture: Japan. Dimensions: Image: 10 13/16 x 23 7/8 in. (27.5 x 60.6 cm)Overall with mounting: 44 1/4 × 24 5/8 in. (112.4 × 62.5 cm)Overall with knobs: 44 1/4 × 26 3/4 in. (112.4 × 68 cm). Date: 17th century.The Chinese monk Yinyuan Longqi (1592-1673), known in Japan as Ingen Ryoki, came to Japan in 1654, where he introduced a style of Chan, or Zen, Buddhism and spread Ming-dynasty culture. He built a temple called Manpukuji near Kyoto, and his school was known as the Obaku sect after a mountain near the temple site. Sokuhi Nyoichi (Chinese: Jifei Ruyi) was among the group of monks who accompanied Ingen Ryuki. Together, his painting and calligraphy express the profundity found in the quotidian rhythms of Zen monastic life. The poem reads:Moon and white paper are ofone color.The pupil of the eye and the inkare both black.The marvelous meaning, lodgedin the circle,Is beyond comprehension. M

Ushiwakamaru and Sôjôbô. Sôjôbô, the king of mythical mountain designs, holds a roll of paper. He bends over the writing Ushiwakamaru, the child's name of the legendary warrior Minamoto No Yoshitsune (1159-1189). At night, with a silver moon in the background. With six poems on the role

Chinese woodcut: Play of the five creatures, 5 - The Bird

Rising Sun and a Cock and a Hen. Artist: Totoya Hokkei (Japanese, 1780-1850). Culture: Japan. Dimensions: 7 3/4 x 7 1/4 in. (19.7 x 18.4 cm). Date: ca. 1800. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA. Author: Totoya Hokkei.

The Poet Kakinomoto no Hitomaro, early 1300s. Japan, Kamakura period (1185-1333). Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk; image: 107.3 x 38.7 cm (42 1/4 x 15 1/4 in.); overall: 175.2 x 60.4 cm (69 x 23 3/4 in.).

Japan: Traditional crafts and trades of the 18th century from a hand-painted album by an anonymous artist. Folio 34 (left). Hand-coloured illustration from a Japanese miscellany on traditional trades, crafts and customs in mid-18th century Japan, dated Meiwa Era (1764-1772) Year 6 (c. 1770 CE).

Toasted Mochi (a kind of rice food used during the New Year season). Artist: Yashima Gakutei (Japanese, 1786-1868). Culture: Japan. Dimensions: 5 3/8 x 7 3/8 in. (13.7 x 18.7 cm). Date: 19th century. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

Kasumigaseki: Waterketel En Ceintuur, Sunayama Gosei, c. 1819 A metal water boiler with a piece of woven material. The Kasumigaseki mentioned in the title was a district in Edo (the current Tokyo) that was known for the many Daimyô stay and houses of the higher samurai. The objects depicted on this print probably refer to the rich inhabitants of Kasumigaseki. With one poem. Japan paper color woodcut kitchen-utensils (with NAME)

Yeijiri Hogaromo flying over the sea shore, stop 18 on Tokaido road, from the series: Fifty three stages of the two brushes /Sohitsu gojusan tsugi

Shoki The Demon Queller /Shōki Utagawa, kuniyoshi (1797 1861)

France Utagawa Yoshikazu Japanese. France 55474

Battle wood with portrait of Ichikawa Danjûrô VII and Langoustine, Totoya Hokkei, c. 1825 A bat with portrait of Ichikawa Danjurô VII (1791-1859) in the Kabuki play Shibaraku, in addition a Langoustine and Varenkruid. With two poems. Japan paper color woodcut crustaceans

Crow holding sabre by Katsushika Hokusai, colour woodcut, circa 1823, 1760-1849, Russia, Moscow, State Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts

son (Hitsu) Picture Album (son gafu) 1817 Sakai Hitsu Japanese. son (Hitsu) Picture Album (son gafu). Sakai Hitsu (Japanese, 1761-1828). Japan. 1817. Woodblock printed book; ink and color on paper. Edo period (1615-1868). Illustrated Books

Tsuchigamuri mushroom, Lactarius piperita. Handcoloured woodblock print from Iwasaki Kan'en's "Honzo Zufu" (Illustrated Guide to Plants), Japan, 1916.

Frogs and yellow rose. Utagawa Hiroshige ; Japanese, 1797-1858. Date: 1830-1839. Dimensions: 37.8 x 17 cm (15 x 6 3/4 in.). Color woodblock print; otanzaku. Origin: Japan. Museum: The Chicago Art Institute, USA.

An Illustrated New Edition of Suikoden (The Water Margin) 1805-38 Katsushika Hokusai Japanese. An Illustrated New Edition of Suikoden (The Water Margin). Katsushika Hokusai (Japanese, Tokyo (Edo) 1760-1849 Tokyo (Edo)). Japan. 1805-38. Set of four woodblock printed books; ink on paper. Edo period (1615-1868). Illustrated Books

Mu dan ting huan hun ji, p. 20 Garden landscape with figure seated in house and two standing figures. Tang, Xianzu, 1550-1616. Prints, Illustrations. 1598. Spencer Collection

The nekomata is a cat monster with a forked tail and a taste for human flesh. The creature's powers include the ability to talk, walk on hind legs, shape-shift, fly, and even resurrect the dead. The nekomata pictured here was encountered in the Nasuno area of Tochigi 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.

From Album of Japanese Theatrical Prints undated

Chinese woodcut, Famous medical figures: Portrait of Qibo

Tale of the Wisteria Robe Tale of the Wisteria Robe, 15th century. Ink on mica-flecked paper, 6 5/8 x 405 1/4 in. (16.8 x 1029.3 cm). Asian Art 15th century

Ogura imitation of the one hundred poems. Former Empress, Kenreimonin, next to a book box of red paint. Scene from a Kabukite team. Poem by Chûnagon Atsutada.

Illustration with demon Ibaraki by Anonymous artist, Watercolour and ink on paper, 19th century, USA, Washington D. C., Library of Congress, 39x27, 5

Japan, Umeyoshi, Kitamado, Madonoya, Kotobushi daishôtsukushi, An annual series of calendars, Portrait of a woman in a circular cartouche, verso - stamped, A circular cartouche with a portrait of a woman. On the left an adonis plant in a pot. This print is a calendar print for the year of the rat, 1840, of which the indications for the long and short months are incorporated in the text below the portrait. With one poem by the artist himself., print, prent, surimono, prints, Japan (collection), height 209 mm, width 182 mm, Japanese, print maker, printmaker, 1840 - 1840, second quarter 19th century, paper, colour woodcut, polishing, poet

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

Butterflies and dragonfly near poppies, 1788 Page 5b and 6a in part one of the Utamaro insect book. Or paper. color woodcut

Temple of the Five Hundred Rakan, from an untitled series of Famous Places in Edo Kitao Shigemasa (Japanese, 1739-1820). Temple of the Five Hundred Rakan, from an untitled series of Famous Places in Edo, ca. 1770. Color woodblock print on paper, 8 1/2 x 6 1/8 in. (21.6 x 15.5 cm). Asian Art ca. 1770

The Actor Onoe Kikugoro I as the pageboy Kichisaburo in the play "Nanakusa Wakayagi Soga," performed at the Ichimura Theater in the first month, 1744. Torii Kiyomasu II; Japanese, 1706 ()-1763 (). Date: 1744. Dimensions: 11 3/4 x 5 3/4 in. Color woodblock print; hosoban, benizuri-e. Origin: Japan. Museum: The Chicago Art Institute, Chicago, USA.

Chinese woodcut: relationship of heart and small intestine

'Broke the Spray of Blooming Cinnamon and Ride a Dragon. Money Could Be Powerful of the Person Has Money'. China, late 19th - early 20th century. Dimensions: 106,5x61 cm. Museum: State Hermitage, St. Petersburg.

Japanese White-eyes on a Branch of Peach Tree, from the Series An Array of Birds (Tori awase), from Spring Rain Surimono Album (Harusame surimono-jō, vol. 3) ca. 1805-10 Kubo Shunman Japanese Surimono are privately published woodblock prints, usually commissioned by poets or poetry groups as a form of New Year’s 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 te

Portrait of Pan Qintai. Date/Period: 1621. Painting. Hanging scroll, ink and color on paper. Width: 58.5. Height: 116.6 (image). Author: Zeng Jing (Tseng Ching).

Island of Little People (Kobitojima). Utagawa Yoshikazu; Japanese, active c. 1850-70. Date: 1863. Dimensions: . Color woodblock print; oban. Origin: Japan. Museum: The Chicago Art Institute, Chicago, USA.

Englishmen: One Standing, One Sketching. Artist: Utagawa Yoshimori (Japanese, 1830-1884). Culture: Japan. Dimensions: Image: 14 3/4 x 9 7/8 in. (37.5 x 25.1 cm). Date: 11th month, 1860. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

Black 19th century Kubo Shunman Japanese. Black 54162

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

Yamato-e is a style of Japanese painting inspired by Tang Dynasty paintings and developed in the late Heian period. It is considered the classical Japanese style. From the Muromachi period (15th century), the term Yamato-e has been used to distinguish work from contemporary Chinese style paintings (kara-e), which were inspired by Song and Yuan Dynasty Zen Buddhism paintings. The Yamato-e often tell narrative themes with text along with them, show the beauty of nature, e.g. famous places (meisho-e), and the four seasons (shiki-e). The pictures are non-symbolic and have the objective of depicting the beauty in nature. The pictures are often on scrolls that can be hung on a wall (kakemono) or handscrolls (emakimono) that could be read from right to left with the accompanying story or on a folding screen (byoubu) or panel (shouji). Although they received their name from the Yamato period (250-710 CE), Yamato-e pictures rather stand for a style and are not restricted to a particular period.

Japan, Tsumatame, Shinchatei, Lacquer box for letters, A gold lacquer box for letters, decorated with a 'noshi' pattern (bound strips of paper) decoration. Next to the box is a partially unrolled letter with a poem. The box with the loose cords symbolizes a horse; this surimono was issued in honor of the year of the horse., print, prent, surimono, prints, Japan (collection), height 127 mm, width 167 mm, print maker, printmaker, 1798 - 1798, fourth quarter 18th century, paper, colour woodcut, blind stamp, Japanese, poet

Isogai Jūrōemon Masahisa, sheet 10 from the series: History of Loyal Fools. Gift by Justus Brinckmann

Round red and blue shell with smaller shells A series of shells (series title) Kaitsukushi (series title on object), Different shells with the waves of the sea in the background. With three poems, molluscs (shell, snail shell etc.), Totoya Hokkei (mentioned on object), Japan, 1821, paper, colour woodcut, h 209 mm × w 182 mm

Drawing, Beating Cotton; China; brush and watercolor on mulberry paper; 20.5 x 20.3 cm (8 1/16 in. x 8 in.)

Album Leaf Painting: Farmer, Wife and Child Album Leaf Painting: Farmer, Wife and Child, 18th century. Album leaf, ink on silk, Image: 9 1/2 x 11 3/8 in. (24.1 x 28.9 cm). Asian Art 18th century

Tokyo, Yamadaya Shobei, Japan, Yoshitora, Utagawa, Shojinkoku, The Land of Little People, below print - stamped, A Dutchman looking at a very small man and woman with child; against green background (Yokohama-e), print, prints, Japan (collection), height 376 mm, width 247 mm, Japanese, print maker, printmaker, 1863-05 - 1863-05, third quarter 19th century, paper, colour woodcut, Publication (Event), Publication, publisher

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

Playing Card

A Japanese wrestling position. Woodcut by a Japanese artist.

Design for a Bangle early 19th century India (Pahari Hills). Design for a Bangle. India (Pahari Hills). early 19th century. Ink and translucent watercolor on paper. Paintings

Pages from the New Illustrated Edition of 'Tales of the Water Margin'. Katsushika Hokusai (Japan, 1760-1849). 1805-1835. Books. Double-page book illustration; black and white woodblock print

Edo, Tsutaya Juzaburo (Koshodo), Utamaro, Kitagawa, Tit and songbird on branch with pink blossom, Tit and bush warbler, Thirteenth and fourteenth page of Utamaro's bird book., page, prints, Japan (collection), height 251 mm, width 187 mm, Japanese, 1753 - 1806, print maker, printmaker, 1794 - 1798, fourth quarter 18th century, paper, color woodcut, color woodblock print, Publication (Event), Publication, publisher

Kiritsu Yoshisuke, 1802, Woodcuts

Kabutogiku or monkshood, Aconitum napellus. Handcoloured woodblock print by Kono Bairei from Kusa Bana Hyakushu (One Hundred Varieties of Flowers), Tokyo, Yamada, 1901.

Chinese woodcut: Abscesses -- postauricular abscesses, etc.

Horse and groom 16th century Unidentified artist. Horse and groom. Unidentified artist (16th century) fake inscription by Song emperor Huizong. China. 16th century. Handscroll; ink and color on silk. Ming dynasty (1368-1644). Paintings

China: 'Night-Shining White'. Zhao Ye Bai, a favourite horse of Emperor Xuanzong (712-56). Handscroll painting by Han Gan (706-783), c. 750 CE. Emperor Xuanzong of Tang (8 September 685-3 May 762), also commonly known as Emperor Ming of Tang (Tang Minghuang), personal name Li Longji, known as Wu Longji, was the seventh emperor of the Tang dynasty in China, reigning from 712 to 756. His reign of 43 years was the longest during the Tang Dynasty. In the early half of his reign he was a diligent and astute ruler, ably assisted by capable chancellors like Yao Chong and Song Jing.

Male figure tied to a wooden pole

Famous Products of Tosa Province Dried Bonito (Tosa meibutsu, katsuobushi), section of sheet no 16 from the series Cutout Pictures of the Provinces (Kunizukushi harimaze zue) 1852 Japan. Color woodblock print; section of harimaze sheet . Utagawa Hiroshige

Yellowtail and Rockfish, c. 1835-1839, Utagawa Hiroshige; Publisher: Tsujiya Yasubei, Japanese, 1797 - 1858, 5 15/16 × 8 1/4 in. (15.1 × 20.9 cm) (image, horizontal chūban), Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper, Japan, 19th century

China: Illustration depicting Dong Zhuo (- 22 May 192 CE) throwing a halberd at Lu Bu (- February 199 CE) when Dong saw Lu with his maid Diaochan, from a Qing Dynasty edition of 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms'

Illustrated book 1893 Japan. Illustrated book. Japan. 1893. Ink on paper. Meiji period (1868-1912). Illustrated Books

Album of Genre Paintings Album of Genre Paintings, ca. 1871. Ink and color on paper, Each leaf, approx.: 8 1/8 x 7 7/8 in. (20.6 x 20 cm). Asian Art ca. 1871

Hibiscus 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.

New Year's Offering. Niwa Tokei; Japanese, 1760-1822. Date: 1801-1816. Dimensions: 36 x 33.6 cm. Color woodblock print; surimono. Origin: Japan. Museum: The Chicago Art Institute, USA.

Lobster on a Piece of Charcoal. Artist: Totoya Hokkei (Japanese, 1780-1850). Culture: Japan. Dimensions: 8 3/16 x 7 1/4 in. (20.8 x 18.4 cm). Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

Morning Market at Nihon Bridge (Nihonbashi, asaichi), section of a sheet from the series Cutouts of Famous Places in Edo (Harimaze Koto meisho) 1852 Japan. Color woodblock print; section of harimaze sheet (uncut sheet 1939.1288) . Utagawa Hiroshige

Chinese woodcut: Abscesses -- fugu and duikou abscess

Album of Genre Paintings Album of Genre Paintings, ca. 1871. Ink and color on paper, Each leaf, approx.: 8 1/8 x 7 7/8 in. (20.6 x 20 cm). Asian Art ca. 1871

A Collection of Roof Tiles, Shibanoya Sanyô, c. 1815 - c. 1820 print Eight roof tiles are on a yellow background with the text "Images of Chinese roof tiles from the Ch'ing Dynasty" (1644-1912). In the late 18th and 19th centuries, collecting European and Chinese objects was very popular, this print reflects this fashion. With one poem: "Chinese roof tiles are just like jewelry, they are as prosperous as the words for happiness; after three thousand years, they will be crushed to be made to beautiful ink stones. paper color woodcut tiles, bricks ~ building material

De Matsuyama SpieGel, 1886 book Number ten from a series with Japanese fairy tales, in English; Cover with title and image of woman with mirror in hand and child on their lap; Inside cover, colophon; Ten magazines, English text with illustrations. paper color woodcut

Smallpox illustration, Japanese manuscript, c. 1720

USA/Japan: 'A Snowy Day'. Woodblock print by Helen Hyde (1868-1919), 1901. Helen Hyde (April 6, 1868 - May 13, 1919) was an American engraver and etcher. Born in Lima, New York, she became well known for her colour etching process, as well as her woodblock prints of Japanese children and women.

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