Искусство

Beyond Kurosawa
Exploring the work of the greatest Japanese filmmakers

Until recently, the western world has viewed Japanese cinema through a very narrow prism. For years, Westerners interested in Japanese film had to content themselves with the collected works of Akira Kurosawa, a spotty sampling of films by Kenji Mizoguchi and Yasujiro Ozu, gobs of anime, and badly dubbed monster movies. Many great filmmakers like Mikio Naruse and Keisuke Kinoshita have remained unknown in the West, and Japanese musicals and comedies are hardly known outside Asia. This volume sets the record straight, illustrating an in-depth history of Japanese cinema with vivid posters and stunning photography.

The author:
Stuart Galbraith IV is the author of seven books. He also makes DVD audio commentaries and liner note essays, writes a DVD column for the English edition of The Daily Yomiuri, and reviews DVDs at DVDTalk.com. He lives in Kyoto.

For the art enthusiast, the doll collector, as well as the casual reader, the world of Japanese dolls is a fascinating one to explore. For many centuries Japanese doll artisans created spectacular works of art, invested with both significant cultural meaning and elemental beauty. The focus of this book is on collecting: What types of ningyo are available for the collector of today? What are some of the features and characteristics which will help collectors identify the ningyo they find and evaluate them? Who were some of the earliest collectors in Japan, Europe, and the United States? and, How do we preserve and care for these invaluable artifacts from Japan's past?

About the Author:

Alan Pate was born in Florida and studied in France, Korea and the US. He has an MA in East Asian Studies from Harvard University. He is the owner of the Japanese antique firm Akanezumiya in St Ignatius, Montana, specializing in the religious and figural art of Japan from the Edo period and earlier. He is the leading expert on Japanese dolls in the US, where he has curated exhibitions and lectured extensively. He has also published widely in journals focusing on Japanese antiques. He has been appointed Guest Curator for an exhibition on important US collections of Japanese dolls to be held at the Mingei International Museum in San Diego, CA, in 2005.

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A beautifully designed and visually spectacular book on Japanese erotic art, shunga

Japanese erotic art or shunga has a long history, with thousands of high-quality paintings, prints and illustrated books produced by both celebrated and anonymous artists, mostly from the late seventeenth to the nineteenth century. Frequently explicit, but also tender, sensuous and humorous, even educational, shunga – a euphemism meaning ‘picture of spring’ – celebrates all facets of human sexuality. Hugely popular in Japanese society, such depictions were regarded as entirely natural and are an expression of the refined, pleasure-seeking ‘floating world’ culture for which Edo-period Japan, when many of these works were created, is famed.

Shunga works were enjoyed by all sections of society, from samurai to ordinary newly married couples, especially after the advent of woodblock printing made them affordable and accessible – it was even possible to borrow shunga books from libraries. Almost every artist of the famed ukiyo-e school, including Hokusai, Utamaro and Kuniyoshi, created shunga displaying brilliant imagination, great technical achievement and originality.

In a dazzling diversity of images drawn from his own unrivalled collection, Ofer Shagan shows us the full spectrum of sexual practice and expression, including nudity and clothing, voyeurism, gods, monsters and animals, orgasm, adultery and jealousy, and much else. Organized thematically, this book highlights the symbols and motifs, often hidden in the background of the art, which are crucial for a proper understanding and appreciation of this genre.

For a long time shunga remained taboo and excluded from scholarship, but this ambitious book, with a foreword by Professor Andrew Gerstle of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, returns these wonderful artworks to their rightful place in the history of Japanese art, culture and society.

With over 1,200 illustrations, all specially photographed and many rarely or never published previously, this beautifully produced book explores the intimate riches of shunga in a way no other publication has done before.

About the author:

Ofer Shagan has written several books on aspects of his collection, including Mudmee Ikat of Thailand and South-East Asian Art and History, as well as over a hundred articles in periodicals concerning history, culture and art, including extensive works about shunga.

History, technique, content and style of Japanese prints This volume reproduces 139 Japanese woodblock colour prints by 43 famous masters of ukiyo-e, the popular art of the 17th to the 19th century. The originals are in the Riccar Art Museum in Tokyo, the world's largest and most celebrated collection of such prints. On account of their rarity and value, 87 of them have been designated Japanese National Treasures or Major National Cultural Heritage Items. The introductory essay, "Ukiyo-e - Origins and History", by the Curator of the Riccar Art Museum, Mitsunobu Sato, familiarizes the reader with the history of this art form.

This is followed by the chapter "Cherry - Wood - Blossom", in which Thomas Zacharias, Professor at the Munich Academy of Art examines the technique, content and style of Japanese prints and their influence on European art at the turn of the century.

The major section of the book consists of the 139 reproductions, grouped by artist, each accompanied by a detailed, sensitive commentary. Street scenes, lovers' trysts, festivals, portraits of courtesans and actors, landscapes and travelogues - these are the motifs of the ukiyo-e print. The dominant theme, however, is woman's beauty, the grace of her posture and attitudes, and the decorative aesthetics of her flowing garments. Amongst the most celebrated of the artists featured here are Utamaro, with his beautiful courtesans and geishas; Sharaku, with his portraits of actors on the kabuki stage; Hokusai, with his landscapes, among them the "36 Views of Mount Fuji"; and Hiroshige, with his "53 Stations on the To-kaido-" and his "100 Views of Famous Places in and around Edo".

The ten-page appendix includes a glossary of technical terms and biographies of all 43 artists.

Ukiyo-e: 139 reproductions, grouped by artist, each accompanied by a detailed commentary

This volume reproduces 139 Japanese woodblock colour prints by 43 famous masters of ukiyo-e, the popular art of the 17th to the 19th century. The originals are in the Riccar Art Museum in Tokyo, the world's largest and most celebrated collection of such prints. On account of their rarity and value, 87 of them have been designated Japanese National Treasures or Major National Cultural Heritage Items.

The introductory essay, "Ukiyo-e - Origins and History", by the Curator of the Riccar Art Museum, Mitsunobu Sato, familiarizes the reader with the history of this art form. This is followed by the chapter "Cherry - Wood - Blossom", in which Thomas Zacharias, Professor at the Munich Academy of Art examines the technique, content and style of Japanese prints and their influence on European art at the turn of the century.

The major section of the book consists of the 139 reproductions, grouped by artist, each accompanied by a detailed, sensitive commentary. Street scenes, lovers' trysts, festivals, portraits of courtesans and actors, landscapes and travelogues - these are the motifs of the ukiyo-e print. The dominant theme, however, is woman's beauty, the grace of her posture and attitudes, and the decorative aesthetics of her flowing garments. Amongst the most celebrated of the artists featured here are Utamaro, with his beautiful courtesans and geishas; Sharaku, with his portraits of actors on the kabuki stage; Hokusai, with his landscapes, among them the "36 Views of Mount Fuji"; and Hiroshige, with his "53 Stations on the Tokaido" and his "100 Views of Famous Places in and around Edo".

The ten-page appendix includes a glossary of technical terms and biographies of all 43 artists

The author:

Gabriele Fahr-Becker studied art history, archaeology, and philosophy, and gained her doctorate from Munich University in 1970 with a thesis on Art Nouveau. She has published numerous books on turn-of-the-century art.

Посмотреть русскоязычное издание этой книги - Японская гравюра

This book contains more than 350 masterworks of artists such as Hiroshite, Utamaro, Harunobu, Eisen and Hokusai, all from the collections of the Victoria & Albert Museum

A compendium of the golden age of Japanese prints from one of the worlds foremost collections.

The dazzling variety of Japanese woodblock prints, from serene landscapes to portraits of flamboyant actors and courtesans, is captured in this captivating volume. The book is divided into four chapters: "Primitives" (the term for Japanese woodblock prints produced between approximately 1660 and 1765); Courtesans; Actors; and Landscapes. Most of the images are printed in multiple colours and range from the seventeenth century to the late nineteenth century. The artists include such masters as Hiroshige, Hokusai, and Utamaro, who are represented by lesser-known treasures as well as by some of their most celebrated series, including Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji and One Hundred Famous Views of Edo.

Explore the art of Rodrigo Melo's Japanese style tattoos through more than 150 lush studio photographs of bodysuits, rib pieces, back pieces, and sleeves featuring traditional themes and imagery. See peonies, koi, tigers, dragons, and characters from Buddhist mythology presented in authentic form and color but with some modern techniques and stylings, like the use of "angry black" to increase contrast. In addition to the body art pieces, this contemporary study of traditional Japanese tattoo styles includes hundreds of images of Melo's flash paintings, a body suit in progress, and new aesthetics for Japanese style tattoo art. This book is a must have for tattoo enthusiasts, art and tattoo students, and anyone interested in learning about tattoo culture and history.

The Japanese sword combines unbreakability, rigidity, and lethal cutting power, and it is in the resolution of these conflicting practical requirements that it emerges as a triumph of the forger's art. The mystique of the sword lingers on in our age of mechanized combat, but the aesthetic qualities for which swords are most valued by collectors today - the liveliness of the metal "skin," the confidence in every aspect of the design, the scrolling temper-line, the almost buoyant lightness of the hilt when the blade is held in the hand - all derive from what the Japanese sword demanded as a symbol of strength and as a weapon. As an instrument of clear persuasion, no other blade anywhere has ever been it's equal.

This volume, containing color and black-and-white plates, has been prepared as an introduction to the history and appreciation of the Japanese sword. Its author, until his death in 1978, was one of Japan's foremost sword experts, and his wide knowledge is here brought to bear on every aspect of sword lore, including forging techniques and problems of appraisal. Looking over the 1,500 years of sword history in Japan, Kanzan Sato notes how the major developments - the shift from the early straight blades to the tachi, which were longer curved blades slung edge downwards at the waist, to the familiar daishō pair of short and long swords worn by samurai until modern times - were the result of both technical innovation and changed fighting techniques. He examines the various fashions in sword mounts and the at times precious, highly decorated work of the smiths who specialized in sword guards, or tsuba, during the Momoyama and Edo periods.

The centerpiece of this book, however, is a detailed examination of over a dozen of Japan's most revered blades, including the Ō-Kanehira and the Dōjigiri by Yasutsuna, perhaps the two finest swords in Japan and as clear and beautiful today as when they were forged some 900 years ago. The discussion of what makes these blades special and how they have been passed down for generations offers the reader a wealth of insight into the sword in Japan as heirloom and cultural treasure.

About the author

Kanzau Sato was born in Yamagata Prefecture in 1907 and until his death in 1978 was regarded as one of Japan's foremost experts on the Japanese sword. A graduate of Kokugakuin University, he worked in the section for National Treasures, Ministry of Education, and Tokyo National Museum. He was Executive Director of the Society for the Preservation of Japanese Art Swords and Vice-Director of the Sword Museum. His publications include works on Kotetsu and Higo metal-working.

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Thinking of getting a Japanese-style tattoo? Want to avoid a permanent mistake? 

"Japanese Tattoos" is an insider's look at the world of Japanese "irezumi" (tattoos). 

"Japanese Tattoos" explains the imagery featured in Japanese tattoos so that readers can avoid getting ink they don't understand or, worse, that they'll regret. This photo-heavy book will also trace the history of Japanese tattooing, putting the iconography and "kanji" symbols in their proper context so readers will be better informed as to what they mean and have a deeper understanding of "irezumi." 

Tattoos featured will range from traditional "tebori" (hand-poked) and "kanji" tattoos to anime-inspired and modern works as well as everything in between. For the first time, Japanese tattooing will be put together in a visually attractive, informative, and authoritative way. 

Along with the 350+ photos of tattoos, "Japanese Tattoos" will also feature interviews with Japanese tattoo artists on a variety of topics. What's more, there will be interviews with clients, who are typically overlooked in similar books, allowing them to discuss what their Japanese tattoos mean to them. 

Those who read this informative tattoo guide will be more knowledgeable about Japanese tattoos should they want to get inked or if they are simply interested in Japanese art and culture.

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Exceptionally drawn in a realistic fashion and awash in spectacularly rich colors, this one-of-a-kind art book — masterfully reprinted from a rare and costly edition — combines the perennial appeal of flowers with the art of Japanese woodblock prints.

Nothing expresses the richness and vigor of life like blooming flowers. A stunning showcase of 120 full-color plates, this specially chosen collection features beautiful Eastern and Western botanicals that will delight flower lovers, artists, designers, and devotees of fine art. Admire such familiar and unusual blossoms as the poppy, rose, anemone, cyclamen, delphinium, water lily, lupine, passion flower, allamanda, phlox, dahlia, petunia, tulip, freesia, pansy, begonia, and many more beautiful blooms!

Tanigami Kônan (1879-1928) was a genius at the art of woodblock creation and color gradation, and he is still celebrated as one of the finest artists of this highly specialized technique. Captions and a complete index are included in this distinct keepsake edition.

Woodblock Wonders. A visual history of 200 Japanese masterpieces

The Japanese woodblock print is a phenomenon with no Western equivalent, one where breathtaking landscapes exist alongside blush-inducing erotica; where demons and otherworldly creatures torment the living; and where sumo wrestlers, kabuki actors, and courtesans are rock stars. This XXL book lifts the veil on a much-loved but little-understood art, revealing the stories and people behind the 200 most exceptional prints from 1680–1938. Drawing from the finest impressions in museums and private collections around the world, it features the work of 89 artists as well as 17 fold-outs.

From Edouard Manet’s portrait of naturalist writer Émile Zola sitting among his Japanese art finds to Van Gogh’s meticulous copies of the Hiroshige prints he devotedly collected, 19th-century pioneers of European modernism made no secret of their love of Japanese art. In all its sensuality, freedom, and effervescence, the woodblock print is single-handedly credited with the wave of japonaiserie that first enthralled France and, later, all of Europe — but often remains misunderstood as an “exotic” artifact that helped inspire Western creativity.

The fact is that the Japanese woodblock print is a phenomenon of which there exists no Western equivalent. Some of the most disruptive ideas in modern art — including, as Karl Marx put it, that “all that is solid melts into air” — were invented in Japan in the 1700s and expressed like never before in the designs of such masters as Hokusai, Utamaro, and Hiroshige in the early 19th century.

This book lifts the veil on a much-loved but little-understood art form by presenting the 200 most exceptional Japanese woodblock prints in their historical context. Ranging from the 17th-century development of decadent ukiyo-e, or “pictures of the floating world,” to the decline and later resurgence of prints in the early 20th century, the images collected in this edition make up an unmatched record not only of a unique genre in art history, but also of the shifting mores and cultural development of Japan.

From mystical mountains to snowy passes, samurai swordsmen to sex workers in shop windows, each piece is explored as a work of art in its own right, revealing the stories and people behind the motifs. We discover the four pillars of the woodblock print — beauties, actors, landscapes, and bird-and-flower compositions — alongside depictions of sumo wrestlers, kabuki actors, or enticing courtesans — rock stars who populated the “floating world” and whose fan bases fueled the frenzied production of woodblock prints. We delve into the horrifying and the obscure in prints where demons, ghosts, man-eaters, and otherworldly creatures torment the living —stunning images that continue to influence Japanese manga, film, and video games to this day. We witness how, in their incredible breadth, from everyday scenes to erotica, the martial to the mythological, these works are united by the technical mastery and infallible eye of their creators and how, with tremendous ingenuity and tongue-in-cheek wit, publishers and artists alike fought to circumvent government censorship.

Three years in the making, this XXL edition presents reproductions of the finest extant impressions from the vaults of museums and private collections across the globe — many newly photographed, especially for this project. Some 17 stunning fold-outs invite us to study even the subtlest details, while extensive descriptions guide us through this frantic period in Japanese art history.

Features:

- The work of 89 artists, from the world-renowned to the unfamiliar
- 7 chapters organized chronologically to trace the history of the medium from 1680 to 1938
- 17 fold-outs, which had to be hand-folded due to their size and specifications
- Exclusive reproductions from museums and private collections
- An appendix listing all artists and works

The author:

Andreas Marks studied East Asian art history at the University of Bonn and obtained his PhD in Japanese studies from Leiden University with a thesis on 19th-century actor prints. From 2008 to 2013 he was director and chief curator of the Clark Center for Japanese Art in Hanford, California, and since 2013 has been the Mary Griggs Burke Curator of Japanese and Korean Art, head of the Department of Japanese and Korean Art, and director of the Clark Center for Japanese Art at the Minneapolis Institute of Art.

The art of the Ukiyo-e reflected the artistic expression of an isolated civilisation which, when it became accessible to the West, significantly influenced a number of European artists. The three masters of Ukiyo-e, Hokusai, Utamaro and Hiroshige, are united here for the first time to create a true reference on Japanese art. The three masters rank highly among the most famous Japanese artistic productions of all time.
This new title of the Prestige of Art collection will be a reference for art students and Japanese art lovers.

The Author:

Edmond de Goncourt was a French writer belonging to the naturalist movement. He was friends with Zola, Flaubert and Daudet. From 1850, he wrote on art history with his brother. Together, they were the witnesses of the artistic life of the second half of the nineteenth century. His last will was to create a literary academy to honour the memory of this brother. The Goncourt Prize is today the most prestigious literary distinction in France.
Mikhail Uspensky was a leading art historian and curator of the Japanese art collections of the Hermitage Museum.

Japanese woodblock prints, or ukiyo-e, are the most recognizable Japanese art form. Their massive popularity has spread from Japan to be embraced by a worldwide audience. Covering the period from the beginning of the Japanese woodblock print in the 1680s until the year 1900, Japanese Woodblock Prints provides a detailed survey of all the major artists, along with the images on which their fame rests.

Unlike previous examinations of this art form, Japanese Woodblock Prints includes detailed histories of the publishers of woodblock prints - who were often the driving force determining which prints, and therefore which artists, would make it into mass circulation for a chance at critical and popular success. Invaluable as a guide for ukiyo-e enthusiasts looking for detailed information about their favorite artists and prints, it is also an ideal introduction for newcomers to the world of the woodblock print. This lavishly illustrated book will be a valued addition to the libraries of scholars, as well as the general art enthusiast.

This lavishly illustrated book examines the profound influence of Japanese prints on the Impressionists and their American contemporaries.

Richly illustrated throughout, this elegant volume introduces two hundred years of Japanese prints and examines their evolution, innovative techniques, and radical impact on the European and American avant-garde of the nineteenth century. The book commences with a chronological survey of the Japanese print, including works from early masters such as Harunobu and Utamaro, classic prints by the renowned artists Hokusai and Hiroshige, and nineteenth-century examples by Kunisada and Kuniyoshi. The second half of the book focuses on Western artists such as Pierre Bonnard, Mary Cassatt, Edgar Degas, Paul Gauguin, Henri Rivière, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, and James Abbott McNeill Whistler, who drew on the Japanese aesthetic in their own diverse ways. The result is a beautiful book that offers a fascinating glimpse of how the great Japanese prints affected modern art, from Impressionism and beyond.