[Two untitled sketchbooks by an amateur artist]

Tanaka, Yūtai [illustrated by].

Ōsaka, Shōwa 11-15 [1936-1940]. In manuscript.

Two sketchbooks of stunning landscapes in pencil and watercolours by Tanaka Yūtai, an amateur Yōga (Western-style) artist. Most of the illustrations, which depict factories, ports, ships, people, and landscapes in and around Osak ...

[Japan, Shōwa 12 (1936)?]. Manuscript.

A letter in morse code to a Mr. Shimizu Ichirō of Mie Prefecture. The content is unknown, but the sender seems to have been a field army soldier fighting in the Second SinoJapanese War.

Two manuscript leaves with original opened envelope, lightly stained. 22.7 x 17.3 cm.

Udaijin Michizane Kō ["Minister of the Right, Michizane"] 

[Utagawa], Toyokuni [III] [illustrated by].

[Edo (Tōkyō)]: Jōshūya [Shigeshichi], [1860].

A beautiful impression of this portrait by Toyokuni III (Utagawa Kunisada) of Kataoka Nizaemon as Sugawara no Michizane in the play Tenmangū Rishō no Kamimagaki. The pattern on the coat features stunnin ...

Ukiyo Karakuri Seiyō Megane ["The Machinations of the Floating World Through Western Lenses"]

Oka, Jōki [Kawahara Eikichi] [text by], Kanagaki, Robun [proofread by]; Seisei [Kawanabe], Kyōsai [illustrated by]. 

[Tōkyō]: Bankyūkaku, [preface dated Meiji 6 (1873)].

The complete first series (all published) of a little-known collaboration between Robun, ...

[Untitled album of surimono] 

[Utagawa], Kunisada, [Shibata], Zeshin ... [et al.] [illustrated by].

[Japan, ca. late Edo to early Meiji period (1820-70s?)]. 

An album featuring 34 tipped-in surimono (privately commissioned woodblock prints) produced in the Edo and Meiji periods. The examples include poetry-themed haikai surimono illustrated with ...

[Untitled diptych of a woman in snow]

Kōchōrō [Utagawa], Kunisada [illustrated by].

[Edo (Tōkyō)]: Sanoki [Sanoya Kihei], [ca. Bunka 12 - Tenpō 13 (1815-1842)?].

A diptych by Utagawa Kunisada I (Toyokuni III, 1786-1864) of a woman (possibly the character Osono from Kanadehon Chushingura ("The Treasury of Loyal Retainers")) in a beautiful dark blue kosode a ...

[Untitled fan print]

[Kamisaka], Sekka [illustrated by].

[Japan: publisher unidentified, ca. Taishō to early Shōwa period (1920-40s)?]. 

A fan-shaped woodblock print featuring a spool of (silk) thread, a silk moth, three silkworm cocoons, and mulberry leaves, designed by the acclaimed Neo-Rinpa artist Kamisaka Sekka (1866–1942). 

&n ...

[Untitled hikifuda (advertisement)]

Seisei [Kawanabe], Kyōsai [illustrated by]. 

[Japan: publisher unidentified, ca. early Meiji period (1870-80s)?]. 

An unused hikifuda (advertisement print) designed by Kyōsai. Companies could buy blank woodblock-printed sheets such as these and print or write their business details in the blank spaces provided. ...

[Untitled omocha-e woodblock print]

[Artist unidentified].

[Japan]: Monbushō Seihonjo, [ca. early Meiji period (1870-1880s)].

An early Meiji "cut-out-and-play" style omocha-e (toy print) featuring a foreign woman and three children, an outfit for each, and an array of accessories. The figures reflect the fascination with Western clothes that followed the o ...

[Untitled painting of a monkey]

[Artist unidentified].

[Japan, ca. Taishō to early Shōwa period (1920-40s)?]. In manuscript.

A tanzaku-sized painting on silk of a monkey in a human-like stance, mounted as a hanging scroll. The painting is signed 栖鳳 ("Seihō") in the upper left. While this suggests that the painter was acclaimed artist Takeuchi Seihō (1864 ...

[Untitled set of fan designs]

[Suzuki], Kason, [Takeuchi], Seihō ... [et al.] [illustrated by].

[Japan: publisher/s unidentified, ca. Taishō to early Shōwa period (1920-30s)?].

A set of 21 designs for fan papers, with illustrations by artists including Suzuki Kason ("Kwasson") and Takeuchi Seihō. Some fans have been woodblock printed, others lithographical ...

[Untitled sugoroku game]

[Illustrator unidentified].

[Japan: publisher unidentified, ca. late Edo period (1800-1840s?)].

A sugoroku game sheet based on several contemporary plays including the jōruri (puppet) play Dan no Ura Kabuto Gunki, which features as its protagonist the courtesan Akoya and was first staged in 1732, and one of the several iterations o ...

[Untitled surimono]

[Deguchi], Sansetsu [signed and sealed in the block by].

[Edo (Tōkyō)], Hinoetatsu [1856].

A surimono featuring poems and an illustration of a man offering a drink to a turtle by Deguchi Sansetsu (active late 1840s–early 1850s), an Edo-based painter. Several elements of the illustration (the fisherman, turtle, and black box) are p ...

[Untitled surimono]

Shōji [signed and sealed by].

[Edo (Tōkyō)], Kinotou [1855].

A mother and child prepare to arrange flowers in this surimono illustrated by "Shōji". 

One ōbōsho surimono, complete. Folds, browning, light stains, and marks. Full-leaf washi mounting to verso. 33.9 x 52.1 cm. 

[Untitled surimono]

Gashun [signed and sealed by].

[Edo (Tōkyō)], Kaei 2 [1849].

A surimono featuring an illustration of a young girl playing a board game, by the Maruyama-Shijō School painter Gashun (active c. 1847-1859). Metallic pigments have been used in sections of the illustration. 

One ōbōsho surimono, complete. Folds, br ...

[Untitled surimono]

Kishū [signed and sealed in the block by].

[Edo (Tōkyō)], Ansei Kinotou [1855].

In this surimono illustrated by "Kishū", a woman crouches over a mortar, attentively grinding something (possibly persimmon leaves, judging from the branch of persimmons across from her) into a powder or fine tea.  

One ōb� ...

[Untitled surimono]

Harada, Keigaku [signed and sealed in the block by].

[Edo (Tōkyō), ca. late Edo period (1840-50s)].

A seasonal surimono produced for autumn, featuring a river, red leaves (momiji), and moss-covered rocks. The artist, Harada Keigaku (1803-1885), studied painting under Shijō School artist Okamoto Toyohiko (1773-1845) in Kyoto, then later ...

[Untitled surimono]

Harada, Keigaku [signed and sealed in the block by].

[Edo (Tōkyō)], Mizunotou [1843].

Plum branches blossom in this elegant New Year surimono by Harada Keigaku (1803-1885). Keigaku studied painting under Shijō School artist Okamoto Toyohiko (1773-1845) in Kyoto, then later under Suzuki Nanrei (1775-1844) in Edo (Tokyo).

[Untitled surimono]

Harada, Keigaku [signed and sealed in the block by].

[Edo (Tōkyō)], Tatsu [1844].

Mt. Fuji and the scenic Miho no Matsubara area are depicted in this New Year surimono by Harada Keigaku (1803-1885). Keigaku studied painting under Shijō School artist Okamoto Toyohiko (1773-1845) in Kyoto, then later under Suzuki Nanrei (1775-1844) in Edo ...

[Untitled surimono]

[Harada], Keigaku [sealed in the block by].

[Edo (Tōkyō)], Kinotomi [1845].

A dancer dressed as an ogre-like creature encounters a snake in this surimono by Harada Keigaku (1803-1885). This scene appears in the bugaku (music and dance) composition Genjōraku in which the dancer celebrates the discovery of a snake, an important medicinal ...

Kotō Hachiman saigi no zu ["Illustration of the Kotō Hachiman ceremony"]

[Harada], Keigaku [sealed in the block by].

[Edo (Tōkyō)], Kinoetatsu [1844].

An illustration by Harada Keigaku (1803-1885) of the lively Kotō Hachiman festival adorns this striking surimono. Keigaku studied painting under Shijō School artist Okamoto Toyohiko (1773-1845) in Kyoto, the ...

[Untitled surimono]

[Artist unidentified].

[Japan, ca. Meiji period (1870-1900s)?].

A small, spring-themed surimono featuring three poems and an illustration by an unidentifiable artist. One of the poems refers to spring and another to the melting ice on a frozen-over well. These may provide clues as to the theme of the illustration, which seems to show on ...

[Unidentified Awa Shōami school craftsperson].

[Japan: workshop unidentified, ca. late Edo period (18th to mid-19th century)].

A stunning iron tsuba (sword guard) for a katana sword, forged in the late Edo to early Meiji period and decorated with golden books using traditional nunome-zōgan cloth-weave inlay techniques. The tsuba comes with a ninteis ...

[Untitled work on silk]

[Artist's signature illegible].

[Japan, ca. late Meiji to Taishō period (1900-20s)?]. In manuscript.

A simple but elegant painting on silk of a beautiful woman, from around the early twentieth century.

One illustration hand-painted on a silk scroll. A few creases and marks, extremities frayed in places. Na ...

Usokurabe mitate hyōbanki

[Creator unidentified].

[Japan: publisher unidentified, ca. late Edo period (mid-19th century)].

A mitate hyōbanki or banzuke of oft-used lies. The 'winners' of the ranking are "the young person who says they hate women" and "the old person who says they want to die quickly" - these people are presumably accused of telling ...

Bertrand [illustrated by].

[Spain: publisher unidentified, ca. 1876].

A Western interpretation of famed publisher Tsuruya Kiemon's bookstore in Tōriaburachō, based on an illustration of the same shop from the multivolume Edo Meisho Zue (ca.1834).

One loose leaf, possibly removed from a book by a previous owner. Light discolouration to&nbs ...

"Yamadenai yama, kawadenai kawa: mitate sumo"

Nanritei [created by].

[Japan: publisher unidentified, ca. late Edo period (mid-19th century)].

A ranking of words and names (often those of brands) ending with yama ("mountain") that are not themselves the names of mountains, and the same for rivers (kawa). Nanritei (1782-1860) was a yomihon and gesaku author ...

Yamakawa Furiwake Sugoroku ["A Game Sheet of Mountains and Rivers Divided"]

Ichiyōsai [Utagawa], Toyokuni [III] [illustrated by].

Akasaka, [Edo (Tōkyō)]: Iseya Kanekichi, [Kōka 4 (1847) - Kaei 5 (1852)].

A scarce multi-ōban sugoroku game sheet by Utagawa Toyokuni III (Utagawa Kunisada) based on scenes from folktales located at mountains or rivers. The squa ...

Yowamushi Korokoro Goton Jūton no Zu ["Roly-Poly Cowards: Pigs with Five Heads and Ten Bodies"]

Seirakusai [Ochiai], Yoshiiku [illustrated by].

[Japan: publisher unidentified, ca. Meiji 28 (1895)].

A satirical giga print on the Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895) featuring, as the title suggests, interjoined Chinese soldiers with a total of ten bodies and five ...

Yukihisa Isobe Exhibition

Isobe, Yukihisa [illustrated by].

Tōkyō: Tokyo Gallery, 1964.

A catalogue from an exhibition of works by Yukihisa Isobe (1935-) held in Tokyo in April of 1964. The card folder features four panels (three on the recto, one on the verso) that open to reveal scenes on loosely inserted cards. The cards can be removed from the outer ...

Nihonbashi, Tōkyō, and other locations : Maruya Shōten, Kawashima Shōten ... [et al.], ca. early 1900s.

A collection of six sample booklets containing a total of 128 tipped-in squares of beautiful real Japanese fabrics. These folding booklets would have been shown by scroll-mounters to customers, who would then pick fabrics to be used in the mountings of their scroll ...

"油町製本菜種黄表紙"

Ryūtei, Senka [Tanehiko II] [text by]; Utagawa, Sadahide [illustrated by].

[Tōkyō]: Tsuruya Kiemon, Tenpō 5 [1834].

A gōkan about which no research in Japanese or English has been located, but which may revolve around bookbinding or publishing. The publisher, Tsuruya Kiemon, was based in Tōriaburachō, the well-known "book street" me ...

[Japan, ca. late Edo to early Meiji period (1850-1870s)].

Semon ("back crests"), also known as semamori ("back-protectors" or "back amulets"), were designs sewn into children's kimono to prevent evil spirits from attacking them from behind or to prevent the soul from leaving the body. These two books feature a total of 76 designs hand-sewn through the paper with threa ...

Hiroshige, Andō ... [et al.] [illustrated by].

[Japan : publisher not identified, ca. 1920-40s].

A collection of seven colour woodblock-printed chirimen-e (crêpe-paper illustrations) printed in the Taishō to early Shōwa period, possibly earlier. The collection includes two large reproduced illustrations from Hiroshige's ‘Fifty-three Stations o ...

[An untitled manuscript on the Tokugawa administration]

[Author unidentified].

[Japan, ca. Meiji period (1870-90s)]. Manuscript.

A manuscript on the Tokugawa shogunate's civil government system, previously owned by or prepared for the diplomat and eventual British Consul-General John Carey Hall (1844-1921). Hall, who was born in Northern Ireland, came ...

A walk through Japan, 1877

Goff, Lieutenant-Colonel [Robert Charles] [text by].

London: Printed by William Clowes and Sons, 1878.

A privately published record of an 1877 trip through Japan by Lieutenant-Colonel Go ...

Yoshū Mame Tengoku ["Foreign Liquor Heaven"]

Yoshū Mame Tengoku Henshū-bu [text by]; Yanagihara, Ryō hei [dust jackets designed by].

Tōkyō : Santorī, Shōwa 42-45 [1967-70].

A complete 36-volume set of the Yoshū Mame Tengoku series published by Suntory. The set of miniature books includes photographer Akiyama Shōtarō's Bijo Tori Monogatari ("A ...

[A kabuki-themed haikai surimono]

[Shibata], Zeshin [illustrated by].

[Japan: publisher unidentified, Meiji 14 [1881].

A surimono by acclaimed artist Shibata Zeshin (1807-1891) featuring poems by kabuki actors and illustrated with an actor surrounded by wigs. The surimono was produced to celebrate the name-change (shūmei) of the actor Sawamura Hyakunosuke ...

Ranjin Tokoromi Gachirin Shinzu ["True Image of the Moon, as Observed by the Dutch"]

[Creator unidentified].

[Japan, ca. mid to late Edo period (18th century to early 19th century)]. Manuscript on paper, mounted on fabric scroll.

A fanciful rendering of the face of the moon, complete with Western ships and explanatory text purporting that 'Westerners&# ...

[A manuscript report of the death of Uheiji]

Uno, Niemon, Ōwaki, Giuemon ... [et al.] [addressed to].

[Usuki, Bungo Province (current-day Ōita Prefecture)], Kyōhō 11 [1726]. Manuscript.

A document addressed to local officials of the Usuki clan in Bungo Province reporting that Uheiji, the son of Shio (a daughter of "Jirōemon" captured in Kanbun 7 (1667) for ...

[Untitled Greeting Card]

[Minister of Communications].

Tōkyō: [Ministry of Communications], 1917.

An illustrated card in French from "Le Ministre des Communications du Japon", wishing the unidentified receiver a H ...

[An Edo period omikuji box]

[Creator unidentified].

[Japan: workshop unidentified, ca. mid to late Edo period (1700-1850s?)].

A lacquer box used for omikuji fortune telling, hand-crafted in the Edo period. Omikuji boxes, typically used at temples and shrines, contain bamboo strips, each of which is captioned by hand with a different 'level' of luck ...

[An untitled collection of kibyōshi title panels]

Kyokutei, Bakin, Jippensha, Ikku, Santō, Kyōden ... [et al.] [original works authored by]; Katsukawa, Shuntei, Utagawa, Toyohiro ... [et al] [illustrated by].

[Edo (Tōkyō)]: Tsuruya Kiemon, Tsutaya Jūzaburō, Nishimura Yohachi ... [et al], [ca. mid-Edo period (1790-1830s?)].

A collection of 27 woodblock-pri ...

[An untitled folding object]

[Creator unidentified].

[Japan, ca. Meiji period (1870-1910s?)].

An unusual folding object with eight small opening pockets or compartments, two slightly larger pockets, and one large pocket. An intriguing origami-adjacent object made for play or perhaps for storing small items.

One folding object, c ...

[Japan: maker unidentified, ca. mid-Meiji period (1880-1900)].

A paper envelope used as packaging for "Best Sugar", a product from an unknown manufacturer. The illustration has been woodblock-printed and the Japanese characters lithographically-printed. The use of Roman characters was considered a popular and stylish addition to advertisements in the Meiji period.

Bukkuman = Bookman

Tosho Kenkyūkai [produced by].

Tōkyō: Tosho Kenkyūkai, Shōwa 3 [1928].

The November 1928 issue (volume 2, issue 11) of Bookman, a monthly magazine for book lovers advertised as the "Ministry of Home Affairs monthly report on the delivery of books". Aside from numerous essays on books and authors, this issue features an illustration see ...

[Collection of fourteen prints]

Sekino, Jun'ichirō, Azechi, Umetarō ... [et al.] [illustrated by].

[Yokohama]: Chikuhōdō, [ca. late Shōwa period (1980-90s?)].

A set of fourteen woodblock-printed designs in a variety of styles by Japanese artists including (but not limited to) Mabuchi Tōru (1920-1994), Maeda Masao (1904-1974), Sekino Jun'ichirō (191 ...

[Collection of gōkan envelopes] 

[Utagawa], Kunisada, [Utagawa], Toyokuni ... [et al.] [illustrated by].

[Japan: various publishers, ca. late Edo period (1850-60s)?]. 

A collection of 56 colour woodblock-printed fukuro (envelopes) produced for gōkan (illustrated serial novels). The majority of the fukuro in this collection were created for the no ...

[Collection of wooden movable type]

[Creator unidentified].

[Japan, ca. Meiji period (1860-1910s)?]. 

A collection of 243 pieces of wooden movable type hand-cut with katakana and kanji characters. The type, which is housed in a contemporary (but presumed non-original) box, is in three distinct sizes: 13 pieces measure approximately 1.4 (length) x 1.4 ...

Lyon: G. Véronnet, [ca. 1880s].

An advertisement for a theatrical event in Lyon featuring the Mysterious Men, Miss Nelly, Sir Robertson, and Doctor Méphisto, on flat (non-crêped) paper with decorative margins printed in Japan. The illustration features a woman and a child looking up at two cranes while an elderly man ties his shoelaces, missing the sig ...