Woodblock Kuchi-e Prints: Reflections of Meiji Culture [Hardcover]

Helen Merritt (Author), Nanako Yamada (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2000

Here is a pioneer exploration of a previously neglected genre of late-Meiji art: the type of handmade multicolor book frontispieces known as kuchi-e. Early European collectors assumed that the Japanese woodblock tradition came to an end in Western-tainted prints. Although many crudely colored prints of subjects such as steam trains and men in derby hats did flood the Japanese market, the works introduced in this readable volume make clear that there was another class of popular woodblock tradition unknown to foreigners that continued into the early twentieth century. In their examination of this late flowering of the woodblock print, the authors provide not only an introduction to a popular artistic tradition but also a new lens through which to view Japanese life at the end of the nineteenth century.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Helen Merritt is professor emeritus of the School of Art, Northern Illinois University. She is the author of Modern Japanese Woodblock Prints.

Nanako Yamada is an associate member of the Center of East Asian Studies, University of Chicago, and a teacher of Japanese language at College of DuPage.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 284 pages
• Publisher: University of Hawaii Press (March 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0824820738
• ISBN-13: 978-0824820732
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 7.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,080,147 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #78 in Books > Arts & Photography > Other Media > Illuminations

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