Japanese Art

England: Airlife Publishing Ltd, 1996. First printing. Hardcover. Near Fine/fine. Small amount of foxing on one preliminary page other wise spotless. Dust Jacket in clear mylar cover.

Purple silk covered boards with gilt lettering to front; black title to spine & gilt decoration to rear. Includes a ten foot x 16.5 inch folded print entitled Daisekai no Saku "Ken" Kamigami Yori Jinrui E. Jacket has two closed tears; other wise a fine copy in a vibrant purple cloth by Wada Book Binding, Tokyo. Large (15x30 cm) bold brush & ink signature by Munakata to front free fly. Number 2813 of only 3000 copies in the original Japanese.; Folio 30x43 cm; 222 pages; Signed by Artist; All shipments through USPS insured Priority Mail. .

Sydney: Privately printed by the Beacon Press, 1953. First Edition. Standard de-luxe edition of one hundred and sixty copies (total issue of two hundred copies). Quarto, tipped colour plates throughout; original quarter vellum cream cloth boards, a near fine copy. As a publisher, Percy Nevillle Barnett insisted upon the finest materials, with elegant type cut in Europe and printed on paper handmade by the highly respected artisan, Harrie Mortlock, owner of the Beacon Press. A remarkable celebration of the Japanese Ukiyo-e woodblock tradition.

New York: Asia Society Museum / Harry N. Abrams: 2010. First edition / First printing. Illustrated laminated boards in die-cut illustrated slipcase. Very fine in a very fine slipcase.

Reprint from the 1880s of ukiyo-e artist Masanobu Okumura's depiction of nightlife in the Yoshiwara pleasure quarters in the Edo era.Masanobu Okumura (1686-1764) was a Japanese print designer, book publisher, illustrator and painter.This orihon concertina-style book includes 38 double-page illustrations of geisha with their maids and samurai customers, playing board games and cards, smoking tobacco pipes, playing shamisen, reading books, etc. One plate shows the artist Okumura painting a large screen. 38 woodblock prints printed in three colors on 76 pages bound in orihon concertina-style with decorative washi paper over boards.Condition: binding repaired with washi paper, interior bright and fresh with no spotting.

Rare volume on camellias from Kan'en Iwasaki's multi-volume botanical series Honzo Zufu (Iconographia Plantarum), originally compiled in 1828 and later published in 92 volumes. This volume, number 88 in the series, includes 10 pages of text and index of camellia species, and 47 color woodcuts of Camellia japonica varieties.Condition: Washi paper covers scuffed, but interior very clean, strong impressions of color plates with vivid color.Kan'en Iwasaki or Tsunemasa Iwasaki (1786–1842) was a Japanese botanist, zoologist and entomologist. His botanical studies were influenced by Johann Weinmann.

Rare set of 3 volumes of aromatic herbs from Kan'en Iwasaki's multi-volume botanical series Honzo Zufu: Hokusabu (Iconographia Plantarum), originally compiled from 1828 and later published in 92 volumes. This set of 3 volumes (volumes 6, 7, 8 in the series) includes 21 pages of text and indexes, and 100 color woodcuts of fragrant herbs or medicinal plants.Plants include angelica, peony, pepper, cardamom, nutmeg, turmeric, jasmine, tulip, rosemary, and many more. The plants were used in Chinese traditional medicine or kanpo.Condition: Washi paper covers scuffed, but interior clean and bright, color plates vivid and vibrant.Kan'en Iwasaki or Tsunemasa Iwasaki (1786–1842) was a Japanese botanist, zoologist and entomologist. His botanical studies were influenced by Johann Weinmann.

Complete set of Bairei Kono's Soka Hyakushu or Kusabana Hyakushu (One Hundred Varieties of Flowers), Tokyo, Yamada Unsodo, 1901-1904.
231 color woodcut plates bound in 4 volumes, stored in a custom green-cloth slip-case. The woodblock plates printed with natural vegetable dyes for true-to-life colors.
Vol. 1: 58 plates, Vol. 2: 58 plates
Supplements: Vol. 3: 60 plates, Vol. 4: 55 plates.
Condition: pale-blue paper covers slightly worn and grubby, but interior fresh and vibrant. First page in each volume with a large red illegible stamp (two on text pages, two on flower plates). A few plates with white flowers oxidized.
Bairei Kono (1844-1895) was a Japanese painter, book illustrator and art teacher famous for his botanicals and kacho-e (flower and bird) paintings.

Kaishien Gaden (Manual of the Mustard Seed Garden) is an Edo-Era Japanese edition of the very popular Chinese painting guide Jieziyuan Huazhaun by Wang Gai, first published in the Qing Dynasty in China (1701). The manual was reprinted many times from 1748 onwards in Japan.Four volumes from the Second Collection, with drawing instructions and examples for ume plums and kiku chrysanthemums. (Lacks the four volumes on ran orchids and take bamboo.)Vol. 1 Plums: 28pp text, 22 b/w plates; 6pp text, 40 color platesVol. 2 Chrysanthemums: 16pp text, 22 b/w plates; 12pp text, 20 b/w plates The woodblock prints in the plum volume, part 2, are double-page full-color reproductions of botanical art by famous Chinese artists with their seals.Condition: Covers browned and scuffed with some minor worm damage, interior solid and woodcuts mostly clean and bright, but with some browning and worming mostly outside the image.

Japan: Yokohama Seishi Bunsha, 1895. First Edition. Rare English-language guide to Japanese domestic wares, with 76 fully-illustrated items. Its publication came at a time when Japan was experiencing a dramatic shift from the conservative, isolationist policies of the sh gun-dominated Edo period to the rapid and widespread drive to modernise and engage with the rest of the world that characterizes the Meiji Restoration. This booklet focuses on a traditional domestic interior and features a beautiful double-page plate showing the layout and arrangement of a Japanese period home, showing respective zones for food preparation, cooking and the entertainment of guests. Items specifically illustrated and described include lacquer wares, a charcoal-burning stove, lanterns, wooden buckets and items used in the tea ceremony. A beautiful copy of a scarce work published for the English market. Bibliography: Not in Cordier or Nipponalia.; Rogala Jozef 'A Collector's Guide to Books on Japan in English', 783.… Read More

Kyoto: Yamada Unsodo, 1902. 1st Edition . Soft cover. Fair/No Jacket. 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall. Furuya Korin. Exceptionally scarce Japanese design publication from the early 20th century. This issue from August 1902, the second year of publication, features 24 full-page designs, most in colour and some with additional silver overprinting. Front cover (Japanese script) is worn and marked. English language cover has (filing?) label attached and is dulled and stained. Stock is occasionally lightly marked, but in general good clean and bright order. Stab binding with silk thread. Bibliographic information from best available translation (see photo of imprint, etc). 8vo. 28pp

174 pp. photo-illustrated book. Folio. Limited to 2000. Very good. Illus. dust wrapper over cloth covers, housed in pictorial boards case. [787]
This copy boldly dedicated by Ed Hardy to Jonathan Shaw; a unique copy with fine associations.

Rare complete copy of Keika Hasegawa's Keika Hyakugiku (100 chrysanthemums by Keika)(The British Museum only has Volumes 1 and 2, the Smithsonian only 2 and 3.)75 colour woodblock prints (all published), including eight double-page, from this seminal book on the cultivation of chrysanthemums. Volumes 1 and 2 published in July 1893 and Volume 3 published in December 1903. Chrysanthemum cultivation came to Japan from China in the 8th century and the flower was later adopted as the Emperor's crest. Over the centuries, extraordinary hybrids of elegant shapes and vibrant colours were produced, many of which are recorded in this book.Little is known about the artist Keika Hasegawa. (The name Keika is usually a woman's name.) Active in the final years of the 19th century, he also produced books of patterns for kimono and washi paper such as Biko Zukan (Art Book) 1894, and Kyoka Zuan (Patterns of Kyoto), 1897. Original wraps are grubby and worn, interior slightly browned and edges worn. A few prints with… Read More

EHON JITSUGOKYO DOHSHIKYO YOSHI , 17.5 x 11.5 cm; Japanese binding, blue covers, not title slip; 120p. 12 double illustrations. The moral tales for children. In this book are the first illustration, which 15 years old Yoshitoshi he drew under the name Yoshitoshi Yoshioka.Very rare !!!!!Covers worn, title with a water stain (see photo) inside is in general clean. For a children`s book in very good condition.
Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839 – 1892) was a Japanese printmaker. Yoshitoshi has widely been recognized as the last great master of the ukiyo-e genre of woodblock printing and painting. He is also regarded as one of the form's greatest innovators. His career spanned two eras – the last years of Edo period Japan, and the first years of modern Japan following the Meiji Restoration. Like many Japanese, Yoshitoshi was interested in new things from the rest of the world, but over time he became increasingly concerned with the loss of many aspects of traditional Japanese culture, among them traditional… Read More

Book. Fine. Soft cover. Pictorial printed paper wrappers with 12 color-printed explicit scenes and 16 pages of text in Japanese, string bound on the right in the Japanese style. 7" x4 3/4". No date or publisher stated, circa. 1860. Very near fine condition, with one small stain and some light chipping on back cover. Rarely seen in this condition.