Japanese Woodblock Prints

The Japanese print features stunning natural settings, erotic themes, supernatural beings, and celebrates sumo wrestlers and kabuki actors as cultural icons. This condensed release highlights the most extraordinary prints created between 1680 to 1938, sourced from top-tier museum and private collections globally.

This volume, a more compact edition of the XXL monograph, offers a glimpse into a widely admired yet often misunderstood art style by showcasing the finest Japanese woodblock prints within their historical framework. Spanning from the 17th-century emergence of luxurious ukiyo-e, or “pictures of the floating world,” to the decline and subsequent revival of prints in the early 20th century, the selections featured in this edition provide a matchless documentation not only of a distinct genre in art history, but also of the changing values and cultural progress of Japan.

From the mysteries of mountains and snow-covered passes to portraits of samurai warriors and glimpses of the lives of sex workers displayed in shop windows, each woodblock print is an exquisite work of art that illuminates the stories and individuals behind its carefully crafted designs. This comprehensive guide explores the four main themes of beauties, actors, landscapes, and bird-and-flower compositions, as well as depictions of sumo wrestlers, kabuki performers, and seductive courtesans who were the "rock stars" of the "floating world" and whose fame drove the constant production of woodblock prints. Delving into the realm of the macabre and the obscure, we are presented with prints featuring demons, ghosts, cannibals, and other unearthly creatures that continue to inspire Japanese manga, film, and video games to this very day. Witness the incredible range of subjects, from everyday life to erotica, martial arts to mythology, all unified by the technical perfection and impeccable artistic vision of their