Ehon: The Artist and the Book in Japan [Hardcover]

Roger S. Keyes (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2006

'Ehon' - or 'picture books' - are part of an incomparable 1,200-year-old Japanese tradition. Created by artists and craftsmen, most ehon also feature essays, poems or other texts written in beautifully distinctive calligraphy. In this elegant and richly illustrated book, Roger Keyes traces the history and evolution of these remarkable books. The earliest ehon were made as religious offerings or talismans, but their great flowering began in the early modern period (1600-1868) and has continued, with new media and new styles and subjects, to the present."Shiohi no tsuto" ("Gifts of the Ebb Tide", 1789; often called "The Shell Book") by Kitagawa Utamaro, one of the supreme achievements of the ehon tradition, is reproduced in full. "Michimori" (ca. 1604), a luxuriously produced libretto for a Noplay is also featured, as are Saito- Shu-ho's cheerful "Kishi empu" ("Mr. Ginger's Book of Love", 1803), Kamisaka Sekka's brilliant "Momoyogusa" ("Flowers of a Hundred Worlds", 1910), and many more."Ehon: The Artist and the Book in Japan" ends with ehon by some of the most innovative practitioners of the twentieth century. Among these are "Chizu" ("The Map", 1965), Kawada Kikuji's profound photographic requiem for Hiroshima; Yoko Tawada's and Stephan Kohler's affecting "Ein Gedicht fur ein Buch" ("A Poem for a Book", 1996); and Vija Celmins' and Eliot Weinberger's "Hoshi" ("The Stars", 2005). The magnificent ehon tradition originated in Japan and developed there under very specific conditions, but it has long since burst its bounds, like any living tradition. "Ehon: The Artist and the Book in Japan" suggests that when artists meet readers in these contrived, protected, focused, sacred book 'worlds', the possibilities for pleasure, insight, and inspiration are limitless.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"... Roger Keys eloquently implores his readers to better appreciate the aesthetics of the books themselves, as well as the artistic sensibility of their makers. THe remarkable collection about which he writes, containing three hundred manuscripts and fifteen hundred printed books, has lonng been know about by scholars, but this publication marks its first borad introduction to the general public, through a selection of seventy works."-- IIAS Newsletter #45 Autumn 2007

About the Author

Roger S. Keyes, a visiting scholar in East Asian Studies at Brown University, has written many books and articles about Japanese prints, most recently a catalogue raisonee of the prints of Katsushika Hokusai.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: New York Public Library; First Edition edition (October 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0295986247
• ISBN-13: 978-0295986241
• Product Dimensions: 12.3 x 9.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #974,205 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful book, excellent scholarship, October 26, 2006

By 

GizmoGal (Sherman, CT) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Ehon: The Artist and the Book in Japan (Hardcover)

This superb publication accompanies a marvelous exhibition at The New York Public Library. This is a must-have book for anyone interested not only in Japanese art and illustration, but in great art in general. Professor Keyes has focused on material in the extraordinary Spencer Collection, but follows a different approach than previous curators and authors, covering material from the 8th century Buddhist "hidden books," through Utamaro, Hiroshige and lesser known masters right through to avant-garde artist's books of the 21st century. Japanese photography of the 20th century is also included and connects in fascinating ways to the greater body of Japanese Ehon. A wonderful gift book, but be sure to squirrel away a copy for yourself! And if you are within a 500 mile radius of New York City, run to see this show on display through early February, 2007.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ehon: The Artist And the Book in Japan by Roger S. Keye, February 15, 2007

By 

E. de Vries (The Netherlands) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ehon: The Artist and the Book in Japan (Hardcover)

Very well selected and documented. Beautiful reproductions and a pleasure to read.

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars companion book to the NYPL Ehon exhibit, May 8, 2008

By 

abigail (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ehon: The Artist and the Book in Japan (Hardcover)

As a companion to the New York Public Library exhibit a couple of years ago, this book serves its purpose: it provides an interesting, well-written history of the "picture book" in a handsomely printed volume. Some figures in the text are examined in moderate detail and placed in the context of the development of this art form. I was disappointed, however, that the illustrations are far too few to convey the extraordinary beauty and variety of this tradition. I had expected figures that would give a sense of the experience of viewing the exhibit, i.e., that there would be serial photos of some of the picture books, or pictures of some of the books unfolded. Perhaps this complaint is unfair, given that this is a book and not itself an exhibition, but I had hoped for a much more liberal reproduction of the pieces in the NYPL's marvelous, extensive holdings. Such a book would undoubtedly be expensive--but it would be well worth the price.