Category Archives: Uncategorized

A Teahouse of the August Moon…

Posted on November 21, 2019 by

Well, not quite. I wanted to look at a new print at the Toshidama Gallery; a superb Yoshikazu image of a teahouse in Yokohama from 1861. It’s an outstanding image, it opens up an impossible series of spaces, bridges, walkways, … Continue reading →

Posted in Japanese prints, Sugoroku, ukiyo-e, Uncategorized, Yokohama, Yoshiwara | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Sugoroku Magic – The Ghost of Seigen

Posted on July 12, 2019 by

The picture above is the first detail in our series taken from the stunning supernatural Sugoroku board showing at the Toshidama Gallery. It is a sort of compendium  of ghosts, magicians, magic creatures and so on. This is the ‘last … Continue reading →

Posted in Asian Art, Edo, Floating World, ghosts, japanese woodblock prints, Sugoroku, supernatural Japanese print, Toshidama Gallery., Uncategorized, Vintage Board Games | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Magical Sugoroku

Posted on July 4, 2019 by

A sugoroku board that is a a good compendium of Japanese magicians and supernatural stories. Continue reading →

Posted in ghosts, Kunichika, Magical, Sugoroku, supernatural Japanese print, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Collecting Japanese Woodblock Prints

Posted on June 23, 2019 by

Prints From the collection of Ruth Muschel and Gillies McKenna at Wolfson College, Oxford. We attended the opening of an exhibition of Japanese prints from the private collection of ukiyo-e belonging to Ruth Muschel and Gillies McKenna at Wolfson College, … Continue reading →

Posted in Art Collector, Floating World, Hiroshige, Japanese Art, Japanese prints, japanese woodblock prints, Kunisada, Kuniyoshi, ukiyo-e, ukiyo-e art, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

War; Regret and Loss

Posted on June 3, 2019 by

There’s been a great deal of media discussion about war in the UK press this week because it is the seventy-fifth anniversary of D-Day. War, conflict slaughter… sacrifice and duty, these are all common themes in Japanese prints. Martial events … Continue reading →

Posted in Asian Art, Japanese Art, Japanese Art Gallery, Japanese Poetry, Japanese prints, japanese woodblock prints, Kiyochika, Male Tragedy, Male Tragedy in Japanese Prints, Meiji Art, musha-e, senso-e, Sino-Japanese War, ukiyo-e, ukiyo-e art, Uncategorized, yoshitoshi | Tagged , | 1 Comment

The Pirate Chief Kezori Kyuemon

Posted on April 23, 2019 by

What an amazing image this is… its a fabulous woodblock print by the nineteenth century artist Kunichika and it depicts the great actor of the kabuki theatre, Ichikawa Danjuro IX as the Pirate Chief Kezori Kyuemon from the play, Hakata … Continue reading →

Posted in Edo, Floating World, Ichikawa Danjuro, Japanese Art, Japanese Art Gallery, Japanese prints, japanese woodblock prints, kabuki theatre, Kunichika, Meiji Art, Toshidama Gallery., ukiyo-e, ukiyo-e art, Uncategorized, utagawa | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Woodblocks for Printing

Posted on September 13, 2018 by

It’s very very hard to explain to people, and still harder for most people to imagine how the delicate, ephemeral, jewel-like images on Japanese woodblock prints can be made from great thick chunks of timber… or how the sharp hair’s … Continue reading →

Posted in japanese woodblock prints, ukiyo-e, Uncategorized, Woodblock print | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment