Author Archives: toshidama

About toshidama

Toshidama Gallery sells original nineteenth century Japanese woodblock prints. We source our prints from around the world and only stock original, authenticated works of museum quality.

Japanese Scrolls, Shunsen and Images of the Exotic

Posted on March 24, 2023 by toshidama

The Toshidama Gallery is currently showing an important collection of five vertical diptychs by the artist Katsukawa Shunsen (1762-1830). All five in the set were once mounted on hanging scrolls that were considerably longer than the double oban print. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Bijin, Floating World, geisha, Japanese prints, Japanese Scrolls, japanese woodblock prints, Puccini, Shunsen, ukiyo-e, ukiyo-e art, Yoshiwara | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Japanese Prints on Drawing Matter

Posted on December 2, 2022 by toshidama

We have recently been asked to post an article on Japanese perspective on the excellent Drawing Matter website. For those of you unfamiliar with Drawing Matter, it is a creative organisation which explores the role of drawing in architectural thought … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Drawing Matter, Japanese prints, japanese woodblock prints, Perspective in Art, Ukiyo-e landscape art | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

New Japanese Woodblock Prints at Toshidama Gallery

Posted on December 2, 2022 by toshidama

We are very happy indeed after a long break of six months to be able to put a selection of nearly twenty new prints online at the Toshidama Gallery. A new show, Ukiyo-e Characters, will go online on Friday the … Continue reading →

Posted in Hirosada, Ichikawa Kodanji, Japanese Art, Japanese prints, japanese woodblock prints, kabuki theatre, Kunichika, Kunisada, Okubi-e, Osaka Prints, Toyokuni III, ukiyo-e art | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Complete Set of Hiroshige’s Hizakurige dōchū suzume, Assembled

Posted on March 21, 2022 by toshidama

This very unusual, rare print by Hiroshige is full of enigmas. The print comes from an aborted series of Tokaido Road prints illustrating the comic novels of Jippensha Ikku about the misadventures of two travellers on the Tokaido Road – … Continue reading →

Posted in Art Collector, Hiroshige, Japanese Art, Japanese prints, japanese woodblock prints, ukiyo-e, Ukiyo-e landscape art | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Challenging Anomalies in a Kuniyoshi Landscape Print

Posted on March 21, 2022 by toshidama

An Early Impression of The Urami Waterfall at Nikko by Kuniyoshi from an Untitled Series of Views of Japan. A series of eight prints of views of Japan have been known for a long time by Kuniyoshi collectors and scholars. … Continue reading →

Posted in Art Collector, Japanese prints, japanese woodblock prints, Kuniyoshi, ukiyo-e, Ukiyo-e landscape art | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Cherry Blossom – Damien Hirst – Joe Machine and… the Art of Japan

Posted on February 9, 2022 by toshidama

There is a minor furore in the UK press at the moment regarding the latest pictures by the British contemporary artist Damien Hirst. Mr Hirst has spent three years making lots of large paintings of cherry blossoms which of course … Continue reading →

Posted in Asian Art, Cherry Blossom, Chikanobu, Edo, Hiroshige, Impressionist Art, Kunisada, ukiyo-e | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Tales in Japanese Woodblock Prints

Posted on February 9, 2022 by toshidama

The January 2022 exhibition at the Toshidama Gallery looks at prints that tell a story… which is of course the vast majority of the output of Japanese kabuki theatre and history prints. The absence of still-life for example, and the … Continue reading →

Posted in Edo, firemen, Floating World, Hirosada, Japanese Art, japanese woodblock prints, ukiyo-e, ukiyo-e art, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Toyokuni III (1786-1865) Actors at the Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido Road (Tokaido gojusan tsugi no uchi) #4: Kanagawa Station, 1852.

Posted on October 19, 2021 by toshidama

Probably one of the most successful editions of woodblock prints of all time, Kunisada’s inspired and justly famous series of actors and the stations of the Tokaido Road marries two of the most popular genres of ukiyo-e into one theme. … Continue reading →

Posted in japanese woodblock prints, kabuki theatre, Kunisada, Toyokuni III, ukiyo-e, ukiyo-e art, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Telegraph Poles and Marcel Duchamp, Yoshimori and Puvis de Chavannes

Posted on October 19, 2021 by toshidama

The enigmatic picture above by the Japanese artist Yoshimori, is something of a favourite. It belongs to a long series of prints by various artists celebrating the many post stations along the long Tokaido Highway that connects the administrative capital … Continue reading →

Posted in Aesthetic Movement, Floating World, Japanese Art, Toshidama Gallery., ukiyo-e, ukiyo-e art, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

A Simple Guide To Popular Osaka Woodblock Prints

Posted on October 1, 2021 by toshidama

This very lovely Osaka woodblock print from 1839 is by a great Japanese artist called Sadamasu. One of the most frequent questions we are asked at the Toshidama Gallery is why prints produced in the city of Osaka are so … Continue reading →

Posted in Edo, Hirosada, Japanese Art, Japanese prints, japanese woodblock prints, kabuki theatre, Kunisada, Osaka Prints, Osaka School, ukiyo-e, Yoshitaki | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment