Binjin, Kabuki, Landscapes etc

Japanese Woodblock Prints — Bijin, Kabuki and Landscape Subjects

This category brings together original Japanese woodblock prints across the major subject categories that defined the ukiyo-e tradition — bijin-ga (pictures of beautiful women), yakusha-e (Kabuki actor prints) and landscape subjects — produced by the great masters of the form during the Edo period (1603-1868) and the Meiji era (1868-1912). These works represent the heart of the Japanese woodblock print tradition, encompassing the subjects that defined the genre for both contemporary Japanese audiences and the Western collectors who came to prize ukiyo-e as one of the great achievements of world printmaking.

Bijin-ga — prints depicting idealised images of beautiful women, typically courtesans of the pleasure quarters, geisha and fashionable townswomen — was one of the dominant genres of ukiyo-e throughout the Edo period. The great masters of bijin-ga — Utamaro, Harunobu, Eishi, Eisho and Toyokuni — produced prints of extraordinary refinement and elegance, capturing both the physical appearance and the psychological interiority of their subjects with a subtlety that gave the best bijin prints their enduring appeal. The depiction of fashion, hairstyle, textile pattern and gesture in bijin-ga makes these prints primary documents of Edo-period material culture as well as works of great aesthetic sophistication.

Kabuki actor prints — yakusha-e — documented the stars of the Kabuki stage in their celebrated roles, combining the likeness of specific performers with the dramatic intensity of their most famous characters. Artists including Sharaku, Kunisada and Kuniyoshi produced actor prints of memorable force, capturing the exaggerated expressions and dynamic poses of Kabuki performance in compositions of bold graphic power. These prints were produced in large editions for popular consumption and carried both biographical and theatrical information that made them the equivalent of modern theatrical memorabilia.

Landscape subjects — including the celebrated series by Hokusai and Hiroshige that transformed the Western understanding of Japanese art — depict the mountains, coastlines, rivers, post stations and famous views of Japan with a combination of topographic observation and atmospheric interpretation that defines the Japanese landscape print tradition.

These original Japanese woodblock prints are collected for their extraordinary artistic quality, their historical and cultural significance and the distinctive visual language of ukiyo-e that continues to influence art and design worldwide.