In this book, the beauty and design of Japanese tattoos are explored through ukiyo-e prints and explained in detailed bilingual Japanese and English text.

In recent years, the number of ukiyo-e tattoo designs, or tattoo designs using ukiyo-e motifs, has increased, and ukiyo-e are becoming more popular among tattoo lovers.

First, Chapter 1 presents the artworks by artist, beginning with Kuniyoshi Utagawa, to introduce the beauty and design of tattoos by artists such as Toyokuni Utagawa, Yoshitoshi Tsukioka, Yoshiiku Ochiai, Kunichika Toyohara, and Yoshitora Utagawa.
In Chapter 2, tattoo designs based on ukiyo-e are presented and grouped by motif, specifically including examples such as Shinto and Buddhist deities (Fujin, Raijin...); animals (dogs, cats, wolves, lions, monkeys...); plants (peonies, cherry blossoms, chrysanthemums...); yokai monsters (Hannya, skulls, bakenekos...); caricatures (Otsu-e, Okame, Hyottoko...) and more.

This book appeals not only to lovers of traditional Japanese culture, but also to tattoo-lovers and tattoo artists, who can use it as a reference for designs.

Demons, sorcerers, ninjas……explaining the origins of Japan’s dark heroes from the perspective of Japanese art.

In many “dark fantasy” manga and anime, which are hugely popular today, characters use extraordinary abilities to carve out their destiny.

In Japanese art, too, characters who can be seen as prototypes of those manga and anime characters with extraordinary abilities, such as sorcerers or samurai who control magical beasts, have often been depicted. There are also works here and there, such as giants who slay demons and eat humans, or people whose hands stretch, that are reminiscent of world famous artworks. This timeless collection focuses mainly on creatures with “extraordinary abilities” who appear in ghost stories and legends from the Edo period and explains the current trends behind anime and manga.

Chapter I: Lineage of Figures with Supernatural Abilities
・The Gathering and Revelry of Supernatural Figures; Arhats, Immortal Hermits, Sorcerers, Japanese Mythological Deities
Chapter II: Astounding Physical Performances
・Shape-shifting and Extraordinary Mobility of Beings, Falling between Humans and Non-humans
Chapter III: Threatening Natural Phenomena
・Disastrous Destructibility of Fire, Water, Wind, Thunder, Light
Chapter IV: Concert of Beasts
・Terrifying yet Dependable Companions; Fierce, Mythical, Divine and Supernatural Beasts
Chapter V: Profusion of Supernatural Beings
・Embodiments of Human Desires of Flight, Cloning Selves, Curses, Enchantment
Chapter VI: Fantastical Battles
・Overflow of Life and Imagination; Demon-slaying, Dragon-slaying, Sorcerers’ Duels, Grand Conflicts

About the Author:

Shoko Haruki was born in Hokkaido, Japan in 1986. After working at the Hokkaido Museum, Haruki has been curator at the Edo-Tokyo Museum since 2017 specializing in Japanese art history.

Learn how to draw a bestiary of supernatural creatures from Japanese folklore, and discover their origins as you go.

Yokai is a Japanese term for mystical beings that encompasses a range of supernatural phenomena, including demons, monsters, ghosts, and shapeshifters. Sometimes cute, sometimes frightening, but always enchanting, the creatures are often at the center of popular anime and manga stories. In Yokai Bestiary, learn how to draw 35 types of yokai while learning the folklore behind them.

Created for artists of all skill levels, this step-by-step drawing book shows you how to block in major shapes, provide proper shading to give dimension and depth to your drawings, and draw small but culturally significant details. Among the yokai types, you’ll learn to draw:

- Kitsune, fox demons with multiple tails
- Kappa, reptile-like spirits with a turtle's shell on their backs
- Tengu, monsters with bird-like characteristics
- Kodama, tree spirits 
- Nekomata, cats with two tails 
- And many more! 

With both drawing instruction and Japanese mythology to engage your mind, Yokai Bestiary will transport you to a fantastical land of beasts and spirits.

About the Author:

Lance Red is a fantasy illustrator and character designer living in Michigan. He provides detail-rich illustration assets for the game and book-publishing industries as well as private commissions. He has also recently started sharing more of his process with an education focus on his Patreon, which includes creating artwork for tabletop games, adventure books, conventions, and more as well as teaching budding artists through online library programs.

After over a decade of travel, study and creative collaboration with Japan, Norm Architects’ shares their uniquely Scandinavian view of Japanese aesthetics.

The book features richly illustrated dispatches from visits to Japanese landscapes, architecture and cultural sites, shedding light on the influence Japanese traditions have had on the studio’s contemporary projects, such as the Äng restaurant in Sweden or Heatherhill Beach House in Denmark.

Juxtaposing images from Japan with Norm Architects’ work, the book highlights the centuries-old connections between the distinct design cultures, emphasizing mutual respect and shared philosophies. Commentary from expert collaborators in both regions provides in-depth understanding into key design principles. At once an ode to Japan, a personal travelogue, and an aesthetic manifesto, Stillness takes readers on Norm’s decade-long journey as they’ve sought to understand one of the world’s most revered creative cultures.

About the Authors:

Norm Architects is a Copenhagen-based practice founded in 2008 working within architecture, interiors, design and photography. Norm’s sensory yet simple work aims to balance richness with restraint and order with complexity. Building on centuries of cultural exchange between Japan and Scandinavia, Norm Architects’ years of close collaboration with Japanese designers has shaped their design philosophy.

Get into this year’s interior design trend: Japandi, a style that combines serene Scandinavian design elements with the richness of Japanese design tradition. It is characterised by a combination of beauty, functionality, and clean lines with a lot of attention to materials, textures, and natural touches. In addition to more than 200 images of the most beautiful Japandi-interiors and designs, this book gives practical tips on how to implement these ideas in your own home.

This book will inspire you to create minimalist, yet luxurious Japandi interiors, where the design styles from two parts of the world meet.

About the Authors:

Laila Rietbergen is passionate about the Japandi interior trend and its way of life. She follows the trend closely and inspires her 630,000 followers on a daily basis. Marlous Snijder is a freelance writer, content maker and columnist.

_More than 200 images of interiors in which Japanese aesthetics and Scandinavian design go hand in hand
_Author Laila Rietbergen has more than 340,000 followers on Instagram and with this book she provides the best of Japandi inspiration
_With practical tips and tricks, you will create your own Japandi-inspired home in no time

An exclusive insight into glamour of Edo–period society through the medium of 140 exquisite ukiyo-e

This sumptuous book explores the important role that woodblock prints played in the fashionable world of Edo–period Japan (1603–1868). One hundred and forty ukiyo-e (“pictures of the floating world”) offer us a vivid view of the culture of entertainment, style, and glamour that developed in bustling urban centers. Expert curators bring to life the scenes and figures depicted, and highlight the fashions, dress accessories, and hairstyles shown in these colorful and compelling images by artists such as Utagawa Kunisada and Utagawa Hiroshige.

Benefitting from the V&A’s world-leading collection and including many rarely seen prints, this is a fascinating glimpse into an exciting world of celebrity actors, courtesans, kimono retailers, fabric workshops, makeup brands, theatre managers, brothel keepers, and restaurant owners.

About the Authors:

Anna Jackson is Keeper, Asia Department at the V&A. Masami Yamada is Curator, Asia Department at the V&A

This book presents tattoos in Japan with all their astounding richness and sophistication.

The history of this unique folk art, its meaning, social background, and evolution as well as a collection of rare interviews with master tattooists made over the past thirty years.

In the world of tattoo art, few traditions can rival the elaborate and refined artistry of Japanese tattoos. In this richly illustrated book, The Tattooed Body by the French historian and journalist who specialises in Japan and Korea Phillipe Pons, readers will find a wealth of detailed information about the history of this unique folk art, its relation to literature and art plus great colour photographs of their work. Remarkable for the richness of their iconography, the balance of their compositions, and their refinement in details, Japanese tattoos have seduced since the fifteenth century Western travellers, merchants and later, in the 18th and 19th century sailors, soldiers, eccentrics and artists such as Degas, Monet, and Toulouse-Lautrec. Yet, despite its cultural significance and aesthetic beauty, while recognised worldwide, tattoos don't share in Japan itself the status and official recognition and support of other traditional art forms such as "the way of tea", the flower arrangement (Ikebana), or Kabuki theatre.

The book explains why and shows the historical influence of Japanese tattooing on the worldwide tattoo community and its integration into the modern global cultural landscape. Readers will learn about the shift from "brocade skins" covering the entire body to the current Japanese tattoo renaissance where "one-point" tattoos are favoured by young people which combine ancient motifs and anime, to the point where traditionalists are wondering if the "tattoo" is losing its authenticity.

With over 270 illustrations, this book is a powerful tribute to the artistry, skill, and enduring charm of Japanese tattooing. Perfect for tattoo enthusiasts, this comprehensive and visually stunning book is a must-have also for East Asian art lovers and those with an appreciation for cultural traditions.

About the Author:

Philippe Pons (10 August 1942) is a French historian, specialist in Japan and Korea, and the Tokyo correspondent for the daily Le Monde, covering current events in the Far East. Along with Christian Sautter, in 1973 he co-founded the Centre for Research on Japan (CRJ), a research institute dedicated to contemporary Japan, now part of the prestigious French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), and served as its co-director. His first articles for Le Monde date from 1974. In 1976, he became the daily's correspondent in Japan, from where he also covered the Philippines, South Korea and North Korea, countries which he visited twenty times between 1979 and 2020. As a specialist he is the author of many books and articles on the history, culture and politics of Japan and North Korea, and with the historian Pierre Francois Souyri, of a volume about the history of sexuality and eroticism in Japan (all publications in French). Aside from five years spent in Rome, he has lived in Tokyo since the late 1970s.

Featuring breathtaking photographs of masks created by a renowned twenty-first-century craftsman, this book provides a unique perspective into noh and kyogen, two of the oldest surviving forms of theater in the world.

Kitazawa Hideta is a traditional Japanese master craftsman, Shinto-temple carver and mask maker for both classical noh and kyogen theater. This gorgeous volume features more than sixty of his performance masks, presented in striking full-page photographs that allow readers to appreciate their level of detail. These meticulous creations are carved from hinoki wood, decorated with layers of gesso-paint, and thin watercolor antiquing, and sometimes include materials such as horsehair and gold paint.

Readers are introduced first to classical and then to contemporary noh and kyogen masks and are invited into Hideta’s workshop to explore the characteristics of the wood he uses, and the processes of creating, restoring, and wearing the masks. An overview of the basic elements of noh and kyogen theater, and reflections from museums that have worked with Kitazawa, complete this vibrant, immersive journey that celebrates the work of a contemporary artist who is not only preserving a centuriesold theatrical tradition, but also remaking it for modern audiences.

About the Authors:

Jannette Cheong is a poet, playwright, and designer. She has collaborated with Oshima Noh Theatre, Richard Emmert, and Kitazawa Hideta for almost two decades. Uniquely, she has written three noh pieces in English: Pagoda (2009, 2011); Opposites-InVerse (2017), blending noh, opera and ballet; and Between the Stones (2020). She lives in London.

Richard Emmert is the founder and former artistic director of Theatre Nohgaku, which is dedicated to performing noh in English. He has worked in North America, Europe and Asia and has composed music in noh style for English, French, and Spanish language noh. Awarded the Koizumi Prize in 2019, he is Professor Emeritus of Musashino University. He lives in Tokyo.

Featuring striking photography by an expert in the field, this exploration of Japanese Brutalist architecture celebrates the surprising beauty and grace of buildings forged in concrete.

Emerging in the devastating aftermath of World War II, Brutalist architecture in Japan is characterized by its geometric shapes, functionality, and unconventional use of concrete ― which is often left unfinished to showcase the material’s inherent textures and imperfections. Japanese Brutalism represented a radical departure from traditional Japanese architecture, drawing inspiration from the global Brutalist movement but incorporating unique elements that reflect Japan’s culture and history.

A leading expert on Japanese Brutalism, Paul Tulett has traveled throughout the country to photograph extraordinary examples of this aesthetic. In over 200 dynamic and impeccable photographs he captures the elements and paradoxes inherent in the buildings themselves: the rawness of concrete juxtaposed with elegant design; a harmonious integration into urban landscapes; and a global, modernist approach that maintains traditional Japanese elements.

Highlighting the work of architects such as Kenzo Tange, Tadao Ando, and Arata Isozaki, this unique volume shows how a blend of global influences and Japanese sensibilities has left an indelible mark on the architectural landscape of Japan, making Japanese Brutalism an intensely captivating and enduring style.

About the Author:

Paul Tulett has a Master’s degree in Urban Planning and Environment and has been photographing Japan’s architecture since 2018. He features his images on his popular Instagram account: brutal_zen. His work has been published in a number of publications including The Guardian and Fast Company. He lives in Okinawa, Japan.

Inspired by the gift-giving tradition of her Japanese heritage, acclaimed gift-wrapping and packaging artist Megumi Inouye shares her clever techniques and creative designs for wrapping with repurposed materials, while also exploring how wrapping and gift-giving can be acts of gratitude that fosters connection and community.

With a combination of inventive wrapping designs, inspiring personal essays, and step-by-step techniques, Megumi Inouye invites readers to transform the act of wrapping into a gratitude practice. Drawing on the gift-giving traditions of her Japanese heritage, Inouye explores how the act of giving a thoughtfully wrapped gift can be a creative, caring act for both the giver and the receiver. Using recycled and repurposed materials, Inouye's approach inspires readers to think intentionally about the presentation of every gift, whether it's a tip for an unseen hotel housekeeper, a simple gift of fresh fruit for a neighbor, or a special birthday gift for a beloved family member. Detailed step-by-step photos teach Inouye's artful approach to every aspect of wrapping-including tape-free folding, paper and fabric bows, clever message tags, and one-of-a-kind approaches for odd-shaped items-and guide readers in creating their own unique gift presentations.

About the Author:

Megumi Inouye is a gift wrapping and packaging artist. Known for her sustainable wrapping designs and creative innovations, she encourages repurposing, utilizing everyday things around us and using organic and recyclable items. She attributes her passion for gift wrapping to her Japanese heritage and the cultural values that underlie the meaning behind the art of giving. Her work has been featured on the Ellen DeGeneres Show and in Yahoo! Lifestyle, American Craft Magazine, and the San Francisco Chronicle. Megumi splits her time between San Francisco and Sonoma in Northern CA. You can find her online at giftwrapbymegumi.com.

Japanese swords, particularly those wielded by famous samurai warriors, hold a continuing fascination for collectors of fine arts and historical military weapons. This book is designed to enhance one's appreciation for the wide variety of Japanese swords (as well as their related polearms), their manufacture and their preservation.

A fascinating opening chapter explains how the elite Samurai class dominated Japan for more than a thousand years, how technological and ideological advances overtook the Samurai in the 1860s, heralding a more up-to-date political and military system of governance, and how such changes affected Samurai sword design and manufacture.

Subsequent chapters present topics of greatest relevance to today's sword collector: namely, the modern Japanese sword; different types of swords and their construction and testing; collecting and studying Japanese swords (and the tremendously important etiquette involved); and techniques of preserving and polishing swords.

This book is beautifully illustrated with paintings, photographs, drawings, and maps. In addition, there is an in-depth glossary and useful tables explaining Japanese calligraphic symbols relating to swords, both of great value to the collector.

About the Author:

Clive Sinclaire is an instructor in the kendo form of martial arts and has been collecting Japanese swords for more than forty years. He is Chairman of the To-ken Society of Great Britain and frequently writes articles on Japanese sword culture and collecting that are featured on the society's website (www.To-ken.com) as well as in magazines. He has become a frequent visitor to Japan in the course of his research and studies, and in particular to the NBTHK (Nihon Bijitsu To-ken Hozon Kyodai) sword shows.

A striking and unusual view of the rich variety of Japanese art.

Offering a superb insight into a wide array of Japanese art, the book highlights – close-up and in colour – outstanding examples of design and craft in prints, paintings and screens, metalwork, ceramics, wood, stone and lacquer and will provide endless creative inspiration.

By showing the complete artwork alongside enlarged details – sometimes virtually invisible to the naked eye – intriguing comparisons can be drawn between seemingly unrelated pieces and the full craftsmanship can be seen.

This title is ideal for anyone interested in decorative arts and design, general readers, students and art historians alike.

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Beautifully illustrated with an array of Japanese art, this book offers a closer look at the rich variety of styles, decoration, motifs and patterns – and the sheer craftsmanship – of Japanese culture. Opening with an introduction that asks ‘What is Japanese art?’, this book presents a selection of striking and fascinating art from Japan, organised into a series of thematic chapters in which the author provides cultural context while pointing out exceptional features. By showing the complete artwork alongside enlarged details – sometimes virtually invisible to the naked eye – intriguing comparisons can be drawn between seemingly unrelated pieces. The selection of illustrations evokes the hand and eye of the most accomplished Japanese craftsmen and women past and present. Offering a superb insight into a wide array of Japanese art, the book highlights – close up and in colour – outstanding examples of design and craft in prints, paintings and screens, metalwork, ceramics, wood, stone and lacquer and will provide endless creative inspiration.

Founded in 1852, the V&A has acquired Japanese objects from its earliest years and played a significant role in bringing the art of Japan to the attention of designers, manufacturers and the British public.

This tradition continues to the present day and in this new book some of the world’s leading researchers in this field bring their attention to the V&A’s unparalleled collection. Ten chapters focus on subjects such as the effects of Buddhism on the country’s arts and culture; the samurai; the highly aestheticized tea ceremony, which has been a notable feature of Japanese culture from the Medieval period up to the present day; Ukiyo-e and the graphic arts (prints, illustrated books, paintings and screens from the Edo period); exchanges with the West and imperialism, right up to modern and contemporary crafts and design including manga and high-tech design.

About the Author:

Gregory Irvine is Senior Curator in the V&A's Asian Department, where he specializes in Japanese metalwork.

The perfect introduction to the world of Japanese myth and legend

This is a smart and succinct guide to the rich tradition of Japanese mythology, from the earliest recorded legends of Izanagi and Izanami, their divine offspring and the creation of Japan, to medieval tales of vengeful ghosts, through to the modern-day reincarnation of ancient deities as the heroes of mecha anime. While many around the world love Japan’s cultural exports, few are familiar with Japan’s unique mythology - enriched by Shinto, Buddhism and regional folklore.

Mythology remains a living, evolving part of Japanese society, and the ways in which the people of Japan understand their myths are very different today even from a century ago, let alone over a millennium into the past. Offering much more than any competing overview of Japanese mythology, The Japanese Myths not only retells the ancient stories but also considers their place within the patterns of Japanese religions, culture and history, helping readers to understand the deep links between past and present in Japan, and the ways these myths live and grow.

Joshua Frydman takes the very earliest written myths in the Kojiki and the Nihonshoki as his starting point, and from there traces Japan’s mythology through to post-war State Shinto, the rise of the manga industry in the 1960s, J-horror and modern-day myths. Reinventions and retellings of myth are present across all genres of contemporary Japanese culture, from its auteur cinema to renowned video games such as Okami. This book is for anyone interested in Japan, as knowing its myths allows readers to understand and appreciate its culture in a new light.

Contents List:

Introduction
1. What are the Japanese Myths?
2. Age of the Gods
3. The Imperial Mythos
4. Living Kami and Divine Humans
5. Canon Foreigners
6. A World Flush with Spirits
7. Invention and Rediscovery

About the Author:

Joshua Frydman is Assistant Professor of Japanese in the Department of Modern Languages, Literatures and Linguistics at the University of Oklahoma. An expert on ancient Japan, his academic interests include the development of writing systems (in East Asia and worldwide), and the role of transregional and global cultural interactions in the development of premodern societies as viewed through literature and art. He is also the author of Inscribed Objects and the Development of Literature in Early Japan.

A major overview of Japanese residential architecture of the past five years by big names, including three Pritzker prize-winners, and emerging architects

Japanese houses today have to contend with unique factors that condition their design, from tiny plots in crowded urban contexts to ever-present seismic threats. These challenges encourage their architects to explore alternating ideas of stability and ephemerality in various ways, resulting in spaces that are as fascinating as they are idiosyncratic. Their formal innovation and attention to materials, technology and measures to coax in light and air while maintaining domestic privacy make them cutting-edge residences that suggest new ways of being at home. Contemporary Japanese architecture has emerged as a substantial force on the international scene ever since Kenzo Tange won the Pritzker Prize in 1987. This overview of 50 recent houses powerfully demonstrates Japan’s enduring commitment to design innovation.

Contents List:

Introduction • 50 Houses, including projects all over Japan by architects including ALX, Tadao Ando, ARtechnic, Atelier Bow-Wow, Atelier Tekuto, Shigeru Ban, C+A Coelacanth, Double Negatives, Eastern Design, Shuhei Endo, Masaki Endoh, Terunobu Fujimori, Sou Fujimoto, Fujiwara + Muro, Masahira Harada + MAO, Go Hasegawa, Naoko Horibe, Takeshi Hosaka, Jun Igarashi, Junya Isigami, Keiko + Manabu, Daisuke Maeda, UID/Keisuke Maeda, Norisada Maeda, Keiko Aita, Yuji Nakae, Koji Nakawatase, Satoshi Okada, Kazuyo Sejima, Hiroyuki Shinozaki, Suppose Design Office, TNA, Makiko Tsukada, Tsukano Architects and Koji Tsutsui

About the Author:

Philip Jodidio studied art history and economics at Harvard, and edited Connaissance des Arts for over twenty years. He is the author of numerous books, including monographs on Tadao Ando, Santiago Calatrava, Norman Foster, Richard Meier, Jean Nouvel and Zaha Hadid as well as The New Pavilions and Casa Moderna: Latin American Living.