#Japan

Utagawa Hiroshige, Wind-tossed Waves at Seven-Mile Beach in Sagami Province, View No. 13 from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji, 1852, Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji by Hiroshige

Hokusai and his Wave have practically become symbols of Japan. It was first published in 1831 as a part of a larger series focusing on Mount Fuji, or...

Ledys Chemin 24 May 2026

Utagawa Hiroshige maple trees: Utagawa Hiroshige, Maple Trees at Mama, Tekona Shrine and Tsugi Bridge, One Hundred Famous Views of Edo, 1857, ink on paper, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Maple Trees at Mama by Utagawa Hiroshige

Utagawa Hiroshige’s prints were exported to Europe and became very popular with Western artists. Post-Impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh owned...

James W Singer 24 May 2026

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: The Courtesan Hinaaya of the Chōji House by Kikukawa Eizan

The Courtesan Hinaaya of the Chōji House by Kikukawa Eizan, is one of the woodblock prints from Vincent and Theo van Gogh’s collection in the Van...

Urvi Chheda 24 May 2026

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Pine Trees by Hasegawa Tōhaku

Japan is a country of distinctive traditional arts such as tea ceremonies, calligraphy, and bonsai. A rich history of artists fills their museums...

James W Singer 24 May 2026

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Bridge in the Rain (after Hiroshige) by Vincent van Gogh

In the mid-19th century, Japanese ports were suddenly opened up to international trade, and Europeans went crazy for Japanese culture and art,...

Kelly Hill 24 May 2026

Asian Art

Edo Period in 10 Words and 4 Schools of Painting

Edo period in Japan lasted from 1603 to 1867/1868. During this time the country was ruled by the Tokugawa shogunate. Those 250 years were a time of...

Joanna Kaszubowska 18 May 2026

Long Read

Hokusai in 10 Artworks—A Journey to Mount Fuji

Hokusai is perhaps the most iconic Japanese artist. His paintings and prints display the power of simplicity and the beauty that can be achieved in...

Coleman Richards 18 May 2026

Asian Art

10 Incredible Japanese Woodblock Prints You Need to See

Step into the captivating world of Japanese woodblock prints, where intricate designs and vibrant colors combine to tell stories of tradition,...

Joanna Kaszubowska 18 May 2026

Asian Art

Japan’s Greatest Masterpiece: (Thirty) Six Views of Mount Fuji by Hokusai

Everyone knows The Great Wave off Kanagawa, the print created by the Japanese ukiyo-e artist Katsushika Hokusai. But not everyone knows that The...

Zuzanna Stańska 18 May 2026

Women Artists

The Polka Dot Queen: Yayoi Kusama Through 10 Artworks

Yayoi Kusama, often referred to as the Queen of Polka Dots, is a pioneering feminist artist, sculptor, performer, and much more—all embodied in one...

Katerina Papouliou 7 May 2026

Design

Tokyo Thrift—Japonisme and the Japanese Bauhaus

The historical narrative of Modernism is overwhelmingly western. However, the history of the movement is, in reality, one of constant diffusion...

Geoffrey Bunting 27 April 2026

Bizarre

Miyatake Gaikotsu and His Puzzling Postcards

At the beginning of the 20th century, when Japan started embracing the West and rapid industrialization of almost all aspects of life, Miyatake...

Magda Michalska 14 April 2026