280 colour and b/w illustrations, hardcover

This richly illustrated book presents the Jeffrey Montgomery collection of Japanese folk art, one of the foremost collections of this art in the world. Superb examples of lacquer and metalwork, basketry, textiles, furniture, masks, sculpture, paintings, toys and ceramics, organised by medium into five sections. These utilitarian objects of everyday life date from the Muromachi period (1392-1568) to the early Meiji period (1868-1912), and were crafted by hardworking artisans for farmers, fishermen, town merchants and the upper-class elite. The pieces these artisans produced reflect an honesty and respect for all things both animate and inanimate, while at the same time they served as vehicles of ritual and symbols of cultural identity. The significant feature of all the objects in the collection is that they possess a unique and inherent quality of timeless beauty. The introduction written by Dr. Edward de Waal, a potter and a writer whose works are held in many museum collections, focuses on the history of the appreciation of Japanese Folk arts in the West. Indeed, the influence of Japanese folk art on modernist design and on the growth of the craft movement within the West has been extremely important. The book continues with extensive texts written by four highly respected Japanese art historians. The entries are divided into five sections: ceramics, textiles, metalworks, masks, and additional objects (furniture, toys, sculptures, etc.) The book includes a chronology, a map of Japan, an index and bibliography.

MATCHIBAKO: Japanese Matchbox Art of the 20s and 30s depicts Japan’s swift transformation into an industrial empire in the early 20th century, as illustrated in the infinitesimal advertisements on matchboxes from the period. In an uncertain society and its changing leisure market, matches joined cigarettes in Western-style hotels and cafes, and in sushi bars next door. Patrons might be found in Western dress or traditional kimono, debating Marx or the latest silent film, but all saw themselves reflected in the new graphism.

Although most were anonymously designed, these tiny remainders alternately show the influence of Cubism and the Bauhaus in illustration and English type, and retain conventional wood block fonts and right-to-left Japanese text. This little book is a delightful collection of images from the other side of the globe.

Completely illustrated in color

250 photos/illustrations

Pattern design has a long history within Japanese culture. This book presents a collection of carefully selected traditional Japanese patterns in 60 categories for use by designers and artists in their projects and personal work. An companion CD-ROM provides 250 patterns in high-definition JPEG format along with PSD format from which you can freely manipulate and modify the patterns to customize them for your own use. This is an inspirational and highly practical reference and sourcebook for anyone working in the area of visual art.

This book chooses 58 projects in Japan and classifies them into four categories(cultural&commercial, educational, public and multipurpose) in order to describe the kernel of Japanese architecture.

Японский художник учится рисовать одновременно с обучением письму. Он не сидит напротив модели или объекта природы и не стремится представить его таким, каким он ему кажется; он учится писать многочисленные сложные иероглифы своего языка путем постоянного повторения, таким образом, приобретая умение изображать некоторые узоры и традиционные формы, долгое время копируя принятые модели, передаваемые из поколения в поколение. Хотя такой творческий метод и не позволяет достигнуть той высокой степени мастерства, какого можно было бы добиться при тщательном изучении природы, но предоставляет мастеру декоративные возможности при создании рисунков, в которых японские художники обладают непревзойденным талантом.

300 illustrations in colour, 180 signatures.

Pressure exerted by America in 1854 caused Japan to open its doors after 260 years of isolation. Virtually uninhibited receptiveness to everything Western was the driving force behind the modernisation of Japan initiated by the Meiji government yet it also induced a rapid rediscovery of indigenous cultural values. At early Paris and London international exhibitions, the Japanese decorative and applied arts sparked off the Western fascination with all things Japanese – japonisme. In Japan, on the other hand, new technologies were eagerly adopted – the government realised that increasing production for export would be an excellent means of promoting Japanese economic growth and thus enhancing Japan’s status worldwide.

 The present publication represents the first detailed survey of the development of Japanese export porcelain against a highly charged background of political, economic and cultural factors. Stylistic development in Japanese ceramics did not mean one-sided Westernisation; instead, inspiration went both ways, most notably in the impact made by Japanese art on Art Nouveau/Jugendstil and, ultimately, the Japanese aesthetic response to it.

This is the first complete survey of Japanese export porcelain from the Meiji era to be published in English – a benchmark standard work for specialists and an insider tip for lovers of porcelain and anyone interested in Art Nouveau and Japan.

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

The Japanese garden, like all gardens, is more than mere nature; it is nature crafted by man. It needs the hands of the designer to give it meaning.

The Japanese garden belongs to the realm of architecture; at its best, it is nature as art. The phases of its history document the constant redefinition of man's position within and towards nature. Its changing forms respond both to socio-economic developments and to religious and philosophical trends, and thereby reflect the spiritual climate in which its architecture was conceived.

At the same time as detailing the characteristics distinguishing and differentiating each of the five major epochs in the history of the Japanese garden, the author identifies the common motif which underlies them all: the recurrent attempt to unite beauty as natural accident and beauty as human-perfected type, to achieve an aesthetic symbiosis between the seeming randomness of natural form and the strict geometry of the right angle.