#Japan

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 10 May 2023

Japanese woodblock prints Asian Art

How Japanese Woodcuts Are Made

Hokusai’s Great Wave from the series Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji and Hiroshige’s The Plum Garden in Kameido from One Hundred Famous Views of...

Irina Diana Calu 10 May 2023

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 10 May 2023

Interview

Navigating the Complexities of Identity: Interview with Tomokazu Matsuyama

Tomokazu Matsuyama is a contemporary New York based Japanese artist who explores his bi-cultural upbringing through his unique artistic style. He...

Ania Kaczynska 1 May 2023

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 30 March 2023

Contemporary Art

Superfab, Superflat! The Most Renowned Works by Takashi Murakami

Takashi Murakami is a Japanese artist best known for his collaborations with multiple fashion brands and famous singers. You may know him from his 2019 collab with Billie Eilish, for the music video of You Should See Me in a Crown. His creativity is informed by traditional Japanese arts and modern Japanese pop culture. His artworks appeal both to the masses as well as collectors of fine art.

Rucha Vijay Bodas 6 March 2023

Asian Art

Journey to the East – Buddhist Art Across Cultures

From its beginnings in India, Buddhist art has traveled across cultures. Buddhism developed its character thanks to many pilgrims who made their...

Marina Kochetkova 3 March 2023

Kiyohara Tama:Japanese Landscape, c. 1880, Gallery of Modern Art, Palermo, Italy. Women Artists

Kiyohara Tama or Eleonora Ragusa: An Amazing Story About a Japanese Female Painter in Sicily

When tracing Japanese art stories in Europe, we found out about this exquisite female painter. Kiyohara Tama or Otama (later known as Eleonora...

Magda Michalska 3 March 2023

Print with large white hare with red eyes presented frontally on pink background. The body of a hare is rounded. Asian Art

10 Rabbits in Asian Art for the Year of the Rabbit

Happy Year of the Rabbit, everyone! January 22, 2023, in the Chinese lunisolar calendar, marked the beginning of the Year of the Water Rabbit. Lunar...

Ela Bobek 22 February 2023

Animals

Practical, Erotic and Magical: The Miniature World of Netsuke

Originating in 17th-century Japan during the Edo Period, Netsuke (pronounced nets-keh) are toggles that attach pouches to the traditional robes,...

Nadine Waldmann 22 January 2023

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 15 January 2023

Hiroshige, Kinryuzan Temple, Asakusa (Asakusa Kinryuzan), No. 99 from One Hundred Famous View of Edo, 1856, Brooklyn Museum of Arts, New York, NY, USA. Detail. Asian Art

Hiroshige’s Winter Views of Edo

One of the most famous woodblock printers of the late Edo period in Japan, Utagawa Hiroshige, produced a series of a hundred views showing Edo city...

Magda Michalska 15 January 2023