'a mixture of artistic sensibility and imagery that leaves nothing to the imagination'  - The Telegraph

In early modern Japan, thousands of sexually explicit paintings, prints, and illustrated books with texts were produced. These were euphemistically called ‘spring pictures’ (shunga) and were originally created by the artists of the ukiyo-e school of the floating world to advertise brothels in 17th-century Yoshiwara, including the celebrated artists Utamaro and Hokusai.

This catalogue of an exhibition in 2013/4 at the British Museum aims to answer some key questions about what shunga is and why it was produced. Erotic Japanese art was heavily suppressed in Japan from the 1870s onwards, and it is only in the last twenty years or so it has been possible to publish unexpurgated examples in Japan. 

Drawing on the latest scholarship and featuring over 400 images of works from major public and private collections, this book sheds new light on this unique art form within Japanese social and cultural history.

About the Author:

Timothy Clark, Head of Japanese Section, British Museum

An in-depth exploration spanning 800 years of the art, essence, and enduring impact of the Japanese garden

The most comprehensive exploration of the art of the Japanese garden published to date, this book covers more than eight centuries of the history of this important genre. Author and garden designer Sophie Walker brings fresh insight to this subject, exploring the Japanese garden in detail through a series of essays and with 100 featured gardens, ranging from ancient Shinto shrines to imperial gardens and contemporary Zen designs. Leading artists, architects, and other cultural practitioners offer personal perspectives in newly commissioned essays.

About the Author:

In 2014 Sophie Walker became the youngest woman to design a garden at RHS Chelsea Flower Show. Having studied art history, Sophie later qualified in horticulture, plant science, and garden design. Based in London, she practises globally. In addition to designing gardens, Sophie lectures on conceptual design, the Japanese garden, planting, and the garden environment.

Through some 300 objects, this book explores contemporary Japanese design: from everyday objects and packaging to interior design and lighting elements.

Ultimately the book aims to explore the way in which Japanese design manages to harness its materials – whether natural or synthetic – and at the same time combines respect for tradition with forward-thinking and experimentation.

The objects featured were chosen because of their strong Japanese character and the influence this 'Japaneseness' has had on Western culture. Rather than following a chronological order or concentrating on the designers, this book focuses on the objects and is categorized by material, highlighting the strong link between design and material in Japan.

The book will include examples from some of the most important Japanese designers from Sori Yanagi and Shiro Kuramata to Naoto Fukasawa and Tokujin Yoshioka and there will be an introductory essay about Japanese design by Kenya Hara.

 - In this exquisitely produced book, readers can explore the beauty, essence, and enduring impact of Japanese design through 300 key objects, ranging from calligraphy brushes and traditional lacquered bento boxes to Isamu Noguchi’s paper lamps and other modern classics
 - Features contributions from the most important Japanese designers, such as Shiro Kuramata, Naoto Fukasawa and Sori Yanagi, alongside contemporary pieces from up-and-coming designers
 - Printed on craft paper and bound in the traditional Japanese style, the book itself is a beautiful object sure to inspire anyone interested in design

Contents and Sections:

Reinventing Tradition: From Craft to Design Rossella Menegazzo
The Origins of Japanese Design Kenya Hara

Wood, Bamboo & Lacquer
Paper
Metal
Fabric & Textiles
Ceramic
Synthetic/new materials

About the Authors:

Rossella Menegazzo is Associate Professor of History of East Asian Art at the Università degli Studi of Milan. She completed her PhD Course in Oriental Studies at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice in 2009, with a dissertation on Japanese art history and photography. She has curated several events and exhibitions and is the author of numerous texts on Japanese photography, graphic design and ukiyoe. She is a regular contributor to a number of national newspapers, writing articles on Japanese culture and art.

Stefania Piotti received her BA in East Asian studies from Ca' Foscari University of Venice specializing in Japanese textiles and the development of kimono design and patterns in particular. She has worked as translator and scientific coordinator in various exhibitions on Japanese art and as editor of Italian and English publications such as Imai. A Retrospective (Electa, 1998), Hokusai (Phaidon, 2004) and Japan Style (Phaidon, 2007).

Shunmyo Masuno, Japan's leading garden designer, is at once Japan's most highly acclaimed landscape architect and an 18th-generation Zen Buddhist priest, presiding over daily ceremonies at the Kenkoji Temple in Yokohama. He is celebrated for his unique ability to blend strikingly contemporary elements with the traditional design vernacular. He has worked in ultramodern urban hotels and in some of Japan's most famous classic gardens. In each project, his work as a designer is inseparable from his Buddhist practice. Each becomes a Zen garden, "a special spiritual place where the mind dwells."

This beautiful book, illustrated with more than 400 drawings and color photographs, is the first complete retrospective of Masuno's work to be published in English. It presents 37 major gardens around the world in a wide variety of types and settings: traditional and contemporary, urban and rural, public spaces and private residences, and including temple, office, hotel and campus venues. Masuno achieved fame for his work in Japan, but he is becoming increasingly known internationally, and in 2011 completed his first commission in the United States which is shown here.

Zen Gardens divided into three chapters, covers: "Traditional Zen Gardens," "Contemporary Zen Gardens" and "Zen Gardens outside Japan." Illustrated with photographs and architectural plans or sketches, each garden is described and analyzed by author Mira Locher, herself an architect and a scholar well versed in Japanese culture.

Celebrating the accomplishments of a major, world-class designer, Zen Gardens also serves as something of a master class in Japanese garden design and appreciation: how to perceive a Japanese garden, how to understand one, even how to make one yourself. Like one of Masuno's gardens, the book can be a place for contemplation and mindful repose.

About the Author:

Mira Locher is an architect and professor who works in the U.S. and Japan. She studied at Smith College before receiving her Master of Architecture degree from the University of Pennsylvania. After working for Team Zoo Atelier Mobile in Japan for seven years, she set up an architectural practice in the U.S. with Takayuki Murakami. Mira Locher is Dean of the Faculty of Architecture at the University of Manitoba (Canada). She is the author of Super Potato Design, Zen Gardens and Zen Garden Design.

In The Art of the Japanese Sword, master swordsmith Yoshindo Yoshihara offers a comprehensive view on the making, finishing and appreciation of Japanese blades.

The Japanese sword, a unique work of art in steel, can be appreciated from a number of viewpoints. Its functionality as a weapon, the sophisticated metallurgy and scientific thinking utilized by the swordsmith, the shape of the blade itself, and the different crystalline forms in the steel all contribute to the beauty of these remarkable weapons. The Art of the Japanese Sword conveys to the reader a basic background regarding the Japanese sword, as well as an explanation of how to view and appreciate a blade. It also illustrates the details of how a sword is made and finished today.

Modern craftsmen use completely traditional methods from the past to prepare their steel, forge the sword and create the unique hardened edge. By gaining a good understanding of how a sword is actually made, the reader will be able to appreciate the Japanese sword more fully.

Japanese sword art stands out in many ways: functionality as a weapon, sophisticated metallurgy and metalsmithing, the shape of the blade itself--all contribute to the beauty of these remarkable weapons. The Art of the Japanese Sword conveys to the reader Japanese samurai sword history and Japanese sword care, as well as explaining how to view and appreciate a blade.

With 256 full-color pages, this sword book illustrates in meticulous detail how modern craftsmen use traditional methods to prepare their steel, forge the sword and create the unique hardened edge. By gaining a good understanding of how a sword is made, the reader will be able to appreciate the samurai sword more fully. Topics include:

- Appreciating the Japanese sword
- History of the Japanese sword
- Traditional Japanese steelmaking
- Making the sword
- Finishing the sword

About the Authors:

Yoshindo Yoshihara is a third-generation swordsmith. His grandfather Kuniie began making swords in 1933 in Tokyo and was ranked among the top swordsmiths in Japan during his career. Yoshindo lives and works in Tokyo with his son, who represents the fourth generation of swordsmiths in the family. Yoshindo, who is always training young swordsmiths and currently has five apprentices working with him, has been named an Important Cultural Property of the city and prefecture of Tokyo and is a mukansa (top-ranked swordsmith) in Japan.

Leon Kapp, a molecular biologist, lives with his wife Hiroko in San Rafael, California. He has been seriously interested in Japanese swords for over twenty-five years and has spent a great deal of time learning about them from Yoshindo.

Hiroko Kapp is a writer for Senken Shimbun News of Tokyo and writes about fashion and the fashion industry in the US. She graduated from Musashi-no Art University in Tokyo. For twenty-five years, she was active in the apparel business and designed scarves for her own line in the US.

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Пролистать книгу The Art of the Japanese Sword: The Craft of Swordmaking and its Appreciation на Google Books.

Future Beauty is the first comprehensive survey of Japanese avant-garde fashion of the last 30 years. Such designers as Issey Miyake, Yohji Yamamoto and Rei Kawakubo made an enormous impact on the world fashion scene in the late twentieth century, challenging established notions of beauty and turning fashion into art. Today a new generation of radical designers, among them Tao Kurihara and Jun Takahashi, is fast gaining acclaim. This spectacular book, written by a team of experts led by the eminent fashion historian Akiko Fukai, explores the distinct sensibility of Japanese design – the uniqueness of its form, cut and fabric. Illustrated with over 250 photographs and sketches, Future Beauty is an authoritative and stylish guide to some of the world’s most expressive fashion.

_A major new study of avant-garde Japanese fashion, from the early 1980s to the present day
_Featured designers include such international masters as Rei Kawakubo, Yohji Yamamoto, Issey Miyake and Jun Watanabe, as well as a new generation of radical designers, such as Jun Takahashi

The Samurai warrior is one of the most famous types of soldier, with his intricate armour, longbow and distinctive katana sword, as well as his strict martial code. But samurai warfare and military culture are much misunderstood in the modern era. In Samurai Weapons & Fighting Techniques, Thomas D. Conlan traces the history and development of samurai warfare over seven centuries, beginning with the historic dominance of the mounted, bow-armed samurai, moving through the introduction of naginata-wielding ashigaru (skirmishers) and pike formations, and finishing with the revolutionary introduction of firearms and cannon. Conlan analyses the success of particular samurai dynasties, such as the Ashikaga, Uesugi and Tokugawa clans, and examines the role of many of the great battlefield commanders – such as Oda Nobunaga, Takeda Shingen and Tokugawa Ieyasu – at key battles like Kawanakajima (1561), Nagashino (1575) and the siege of Osaka (1615).

The book is illustrated throughout with more than 300 detailed line drawings and colour photographs showing the weapons, equipment, techniques and tactics of the samurai. Types of armour – such as ō-yoroi, haramaki and paper armour – and weapons – such as the tachi long sword, wakizashi short sword and yari (pike) – are depicted in detail.

Expertly written, Samurai Weapons & Fighting Techniques is a highly illustrated, accessible introduction to samurai warfare for both the military enthusiast and general reader.

About the Author:

Thomas D. Conlan is Professor of East Asian Studies & History at Princeton University. He was formerly Associate Professor of Asian Studies at Bowdoin College, Maine. A graduate in Japanese History from the Universities of Michigan and Kyoto, he was awarded his Ph.D from Stanford University in 1998. His books include The Violent Order of Fourteenth Century Japan.

Japan’s origin story dates from the eighth century CE, written in the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki. From the first creation of heaven, earth and the Japanese archipelago from the tip of a spear by the gods Izanagi and Izanami, Shinto and Buddhist traditions make up the cornerstones of Japanese mythology.

Japanese Myths provides a clear, concise introduction to this fascinating, if little-known, world. Find out about Hachiman (八幡神), the mighty god of war and the divine protector of Japan and its people. Marvel at Fujin (風神), the god of the wind, a popular but terrifying demon – his bag of air is thought to move all the world’s winds, and he is a powerful force of nature alongside his brother, the thunder god Raijin. See Hotei (布袋), the “Laughing Buddha” and one of the most well-known symbols of Buddhism – rubbing his belly is said to bring good luck. And enjoy the myth of Shita-kiri Suzume, or “Toung-Cut Sparrow”, which explores the effects of greed, friendship and jealousy.

Illustrated with 150 photographs and artworks, Japanese Myths is an accessible, entertaining and highly informative exploration of everything from the kami holy spirits venerated in Shinto religion to the divine origins of the Japanese imperial family.

About the Author:

Melanie Clegg holds a BA (Hons) in Japanese Studies from the University of Oxford. After almost a decade spent in Japan, she now resides in the UK, where she works as a freelance Japanese-to-English translator of video games and other entertainment media. She lives with her husband and their two one-eyed cats

‘Tea began as a medicine and grew into a beverage,’ are the opening words of Okakura Kakuzō’s The Book of Tea, written in English in 1906 for a Western audience. The book is a long essay celebrating the secular art of the Japanese tea ceremony and linking its importance with Zen Buddhism and Taoism. It is both about cultural life, aesthetics and philosophy, emphasising how Teaism – a term Kakuzō coined – taught the Japanese many things; most importantly, simplicity, which can be seen in Japanese art and architecture. Looking back at the evolution of the Japanese tea ceremony, Kakuzō argues that Teaism, in itself, is one of the profound universal remedies that two parties could sit down to. Where the West had scoffed at Eastern religion and morals, it held Eastern tea ceremonies in high regard.

With a new introduction, this is an exquisitely produced edition of a classic text made using traditional Chinese bookbinding techniques. Surely it’s time for tea.

About the Author:

Okakura Kakuzo was born in 1862, the son of a merchant. He learnt English as a child and went on to study languages at Tokyo University. There, he started a movement to preserve Japanese culture from the rise of modernism and westernisation. At the age of only twenty-nine, he was made principal of the National Art School, and many of his students went on to become famous artists. In 1898, he resigned to found a dissident school of art. To raise funds, he travelled to America, where he found a wealthy and interested patron in Mrs Isabella Gardner, ‘Queen of Boston’. Now a successful artist, he was also appointed curator of Chinese and Japanese art at the Boston Museum. A dramatic and extroverted character, he wrote The Book of Tea in 1906 and died seven years later, in 1913.

Haiku – seventeen-syllable poems that evoke worlds despite their brevity – have captivated Japanese readers since the seventeenth century.

Today the form is practiced worldwide and has become established as part of our common global heritage. This beautiful traditionally hand-bound volume presents new English translations of classic poems by the four great masters of Japanese haiku – Matsuo Basho, Yosa Buson, Kobayashi Issa, and Masaoka Shiki – accompanied by both the original Japanese and a phonetic transcription, and a photograph or artwork highlighting or echoing the poem’s theme.

With a timeless design, Haiku Illustrated is an expert introduction and celebration of one of the most beautiful and accessible forms of poetry in the world.

About the Author:

Hart Larrabee is an American translator who lives with his family in the little town of Obuse in northern Nagano, Japan, right in the heart of Issa country. His translations of short stories by Fumio Takano and Mitsuyo Kakuta have appeared, respectively, in the anthologies Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction and The Book of Tokyo: A City in Short Fiction. He also translates non-fiction, particularly in the fields of art, design, and architecture.

The definitive overview of the most iconic and influential Japanese gardens of the 20th century and beyond

A major survey and the first book of its kind, The Modern Japanese Garden is set to become the definitive book on the subject. Featuring gardens from Tokyo, Kyoto and Fujisawa to Osaka, Okayama, Fukuoka and beyond, this impressive overview includes major analysis of key works of interest through detailed garden profiles; insights into some of the most renowned Japanese garden designers across history; and a thoughtful exploration of the essential themes and developments in Japanese garden design.

Roughly divided between pre- and post-1945 Japanese garden design, the book examines post-war shifts in attitudes towards the contemporary garden as they moved from status symbols and expressions of influence to spaces of healing and mediation. A short history of the Japanese garden, from pre-Shinto stone arrangements to the last years of the 19th century, sits alongside analysis of the contemporary gardens of Japan’s corporate buildings, museums, hotels and public spaces. Garden profiles – offering a comprehensive overview of the most iconic and influential gardens in Japan – include a mix of landscape- and smaller-scale gardens, including many recently completed examples.

Interspersed throughout are short interludes, covering everything from the ancient garden of Ryoan-ji in Kyoto to the aesthetic lexicon of Japanese garden design, while essays from a number of high-profile contributors – Kengo Kuma, Mira Locher, Tim Richardson and Masuno Shunmyo – meditate on particular themes.

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

Showcasing impactful and effective poster designs from Japan, POSŪTA POSTER shines a spotlight on the new generation of graphic design work inspired by unique Japanese culture, elements, and aesthetics.

From the iconic 1964 Olympics poster by Yusaku Kamekura to the psychedelic posters of Tadanori Yokoo, Japan has made its way to the forefront of impactful and effective graphic and poster design since its post-war days. Fast-forwarding to the Reiwa era, Japan’s graphic design scene has continued to evolve in terms of design values and aesthetics.

Known for their dedication to craft and ingenuity, Japanese design aesthetics are not only timeless, but also incorporates unique elements found only in their culture. POSŪTA POSTER serves to showcase poster designs from Japan’s new generation of talent, spanning categories from political/social, advertising, experimental and more.

A lavishly illustrated history of Japanese screens — limited to 3,000 numbered copies

Japanese screens (byobu, meaning “barrier against the wind”) are made of wooden lattices with two to twelve panels, covered with a paper or fabric canvas. They are unique for being beautiful artworks as well as portable furnishings, acting as backdrops for court ceremonies or partitions for intimate tea services. Artists have embraced screens as three-dimensional objects, creating dynamic compositions that guide the viewer’s eye from one panel to the next.

This sumptuous book explores the 1,300-year history of Japanese screens. The authors, leading experts on Japanese art and culture, describe how screens developed from the eighth to the twenty-first century, from their ceremonial use in palaces and temples to their functional and decorative use in ordinary Japanese homes. They examine the stylistic evolution of screens and the wide variety of subjects, such as animals, the seasons, The Tale of Genji, and calligraphic designs.

Bound in the Japanese style and housed in a handsome clamshell box, this volume also comes with a poster-sized reproduction of an exceptional screen, suitable for framing. Japanese Screens will be an essential addition to any art lover’s library.

About the Authors:

Anne-Marie Christin was professor emeritus of classical literature at the University of Paris, founder of the Center for the Study of Writing and Image (CEEI), and author of A History of Writing.

Torahiko Terada is a professor of comparative culture and literature at the University of Tokyo.

Claire-Akiko Brisset is a professor of Japanese cultural history at the University of Geneva.

Over the years, Japanese gardeners have fine-tuned a distinctive set of pruning techniques that coax out the essential characters of their garden trees, or niwaki. In this highly practical book, Western gardeners are encouraged to draw upon the techniques and sculpt their own garden trees to unique effect. After first discussing the principles that underpin the techniques, the author offers in-depth guidelines for shaping pines, azaleas, conifers, broadleaved evergreens, bamboos and deciduous trees. Throughout the text, step-by-step illustrations accompany the instructions, while abundant photographs and anecdotes bring the ideas surrounding niwaki vividly to life.

About the Author:

Jake Hobson draws upon years of experience with Japanese gardens and landscaping. He spent a year at a nursery in Osaka, and in 2004 started his own business Niwaki, Japanese Garden Tools. A keen observer of the artistry of gardens, Jake received his bachelor's degree in sculpture. He lives in England.