2017

Artwork of Katsushika Hokusai, ‘Honjo-tatekawa’

5.Honjo-tatekawa We can see the lively aspects of the Edo craftmen in this woodblock print of the series of “Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji“   Honjo, today’s Sumida-ku (Tokyo), was developed as a new town after the Great Fire of Meireki in 1657 and the many lumber dealer stood in a raw in the city. Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) drew the […]

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‘Asakusa Hongan-ji Temple in the Eastern Capital’ by Katsushika Hokusai

4.Asakusa Hongan-ji Temple in the Eastern Capital      The architecture of Hongan-ji temple closes in on this side and the Kawara workmen repair the roof on it. The big roof was so popular in Edo City.   The high point of view is really outstanding for this ukiyo-e woodblock printing. Even the clouds float lower than the roof.

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Katsushika Hokusai’s, ‘Surugadai in the Eastern Capital’ landscape ukiyo-e art

3.Surugadai in the Eastern Capital   The summer view ukiyo-e from Suruga-dai at Kanda drawn by Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849). Suruga was the area around Shizuoka Prefecture now. It is said that the origin of the name “Suruga-dai” was because it was a place where Suruga samurai houses were in Hongo, Kanda or Mt. Fuji in Suruga could

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‘The Store of Mitsui in Suruga-cho, the Eastern Capital’ print by Katsushika Hokusai

2.The Store of Mitsui in Suruga-cho, the Eastern Capital   Mt. Fuji in the center separates the screen. By all rights, there should be the street under the image, but the part above the signboard is drawn. It similar to ‘Asakusa Hongan-ji temple in the Eastern capital‘ of the Kawara workmen and the kite show the

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Mount Fuji ukiyo-e art ‘Nihonbashi, Edo’ by Katsushika Hokusai

1. Nihonbashi, Edo     Nihonbashi Bridge was a bridge that became the starting point of five highway, Tokaido, Nakasendo, Koshudo, Nikkodo, and Ooshudo. Katsushika Hokusai(1760-1849) used the perspective method for the artworks.    According to the documents at the time, Nihonbashi was about 50 meters in length. As the print shows, the various people always crossed over the bridge

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Famous The Great Wave Off Kanagawa art print, painted by Katsushika Hokusai

The Japanese big wave art, The Great Wave off Kanagawa(kanagawa oki nami ura) ‘The Great Wave off Kanagawa’ (woodblock printing) is one of the most famous art not only of Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849)‘s prints but also throughout the country(but actually, there are quite a few Japanese who do not know the title of the picture…). You might not be able to

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Utagawa Kuniyoshi, goldfishes ukiyo-e prints (Kingyo zukushi)

“All kind of goldfishes (金魚づくし, Kingyo-zukushi)” by Utagawa Kuniyoshi Utagawa Kuniyoshi(1798-1861) was an ukiyo-e artist who was good at coming up with an ingenious plan for the works. He created woodblock printings freely and drawn a wide range of pictures from impressive to cute. Kingyo-zukushi is one of the gi-ga  (戯画) that the theme is funny picuture. Kuniyoshi personified goldfishes in

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Best 10 love haiku poetry collections by famous Japanese poets

Romantic Japanese love lyrics of 5-7-5 haiku for English three lines From “Anthology of Poems: The Love Section” ukiyo-e art prints by Kitagawa Utamaro Most of the themes of Japanese haiku are about nature or everyday life, but there are excellent poems of love from Edo period to the present day. The following haiku poems

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Kitagawa Utamaro’s art woodblcok prints of Okita

Naniwa-ya Okita, one of the most famous model of Utamaro’s woodblock prints Among the ukiyo-e artists in Japan, Kitagawa Utamaro was second to none in beautiful woman portrait(bijinga). He painted various pictures of middle class women in Edo, but especially Naniwa-ya Okita appeared in many works.  But originally she was only a town girl. The woman who is in the right of

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