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.

The definitive overview of and ultimate resource on the iconic architect-designed houses built in Japan from 1945 to the present

Imagine a terraced house whose courtyard separates the kitchen from the bedroom. Or a tiny, triangular tower of rooms stacked one above another. Quirky, experimental and utterly fascinating, the houses produced in Japan since the end of the Second World War are among the most exceptional in the world. The Japanese House Since 1945 is a cohesive chronology of the most compelling architect-designed Japanese homes, showing developments in form, material, architectural expression and family living over almost eight decades.

Unparallelled in their conceptual purity, many Japanese houses have become icons at home as well as abroad. Presented with clear prose and accompanied by compelling photographs and drawings, this book features 97 houses, divided among nine chapters and organized by decade. In addition to acquainting the reader with individual homes, the book illuminates the social, technological, geographic and historical factors behind these era-defining houses. Developments over the period are underscored by the visual presentation, as it evolves from monochrome to colour and from hand-drawn to digital. Decade lead-ins set the historical context for each chapter, while ‘Spotlight’ segments draw attention to the separate components of the Japanese house. ‘At Home’ sections, most written by architects and their family members, bring to life the experience of living in these unique houses.

About the Author:

Naomi Pollock is an American architect, journalist and author. She has lived in Japan since the 1980s, reporting on architecture for international magazines. A special international correspondent for Architectural Record, she has written a number of books on Japanese houses and architects and is the author of Japanese Design Since 1945, also published by Thames & Hudson.

Enter the enchanting world of legendary director Hayao Miyazaki's My Neighbor Totoro.

Including 30 different hand-drawn final frames from the film, this collection of postcards (to keep or send) celebrates the beautiful art and story of Totoro.

A true delight for Studio Ghibli and animation fans!

About the Author:

Studio Ghibli is a Tokyo-based animation film studio founded by directors Isao Takahata and Hayao Miyazaki. The studio has produced several short films and more than 20 feature-length films, including My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki’s Delivery Service, Princess Mononoke, and the Academy-Award winner Spirited Away.

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. Fastforwarding 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.

In the Japanese Knitting Stitch Bible knitting guru Hitomi Shida shares some of her favorite needlework patterns.

Shida's strikingly original designs and variations on every imaginable classic stitch result in intricate patterns that form the basis for beautiful and unique knitted fashions. This is the perfect book for the experienced knitter who is looking for new stitches that yield spectacular results!

This Japanese knitting book features a wide range of rewarding and intricate stitches including:

- cables
- popcorn stitches
- twisted stitches
- edgings

and many more…

A set of detailed, step-by-step diagrams show you how to execute all the basic stitches. Instructions and diagrams for a series of small projects offer practice working with large patterns, lacy patterns, pattern arrangement and round yokes among other things.

The knitting projects include:

- A classic hat made using large patterns
- An elegant scarf in lacy patterns
- The ever-popular fingerless mittens
- Thick socks that can be made using various patterns
- A feminine collar using round stitching

And much more!

This Japanese stitch dictionary represents a whole new adventure for knitters and is sure to become a valued reference for experienced knitters.

About the Author:

Hitomi Shida is a well-known Japanese designer of hundreds of original knitting stitches and knitted garments. She has been teaching, designing and writing books for over 20 years, and her work already enjoys a worldwide following among Japanese knitting fans. 

Gayle Roehm now devotes herself to fiber arts and happily spends her days with yarn and needles. She has lived in Japan, studied the language for many years, and has knit from Japanese patterns for most of her knitting career. Gayle teaches at knitting gatherings around the country and occasionally publishes her own designs. She's been one of Hitomi Shida's biggest fans for over 15 years.

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Пролистать книгу Japanese Knitting Stitch Bible: 260 Exquisite Patterns by Hitomi Shida на Google Books.

250 Japanese Knitting Stitches contains the original collection of knitting stitches first published by Hitomi Shida in 1996.

Copies of the original Japanese edition have been jealously coveted by knitters around the world, and now Tuttle Publishing brings you this classic in English for the first time!

Hitomi Shida's previous work, the Japanese Knitting Stitch Bible was released by Tuttle in October 2017 and has already been purchased (and tested) by thousands of avid knitters who are thrilled to discover a treasure trove of elegant and intricate new patterns. 250 Japanese Knitting Stitches was Hitomi Shida's first effort and, like its successor, is filled with her highly original and beautiful designs and variations on knitting classics.

Translated and introduced by veteran knitting instructor Gayle Roehm, the best-known teacher of Japanese knitting in America. Roehm guides knitters through the particulars of the patterns and explains how to execute the stitches.

This knitting reference book features the following:

- Stitches designed for borders and edgings
- Beautiful cable stitches, both simple and elaborate
- Elegant popcorn stitches from fine to bold
- Multiple variations on individual patterns

Shida's finished projects are a wonder to behold and accomplished knitters will brave even the most daunting of stitch patterns to create them. Filled with 250 distinctive and inventive patterns--with a stitch diagram and photo for each pattern--this highly anticipated book is destined to be on every knitter's bookshelf.

About the Author:

Hitoi Shidma is a well-known Japanese designer of thousands of original knitting stitches and knitted garments, cultivating a worldwide following of fans. Her intricate and elegant patterns have made her the most famous knitting guru in Japan. She has been teaching, designing and writing books for over 20 years.

A major survey of the Japanese designers, artisans, manufacturers and technologies that have shaped the world of modern design

A dedication to craft and the finest production quality have been an integral part of culture and day-to-day life in Japan for centuries. For the Japanese, the concept of design is not limited to functionality or materiality, but wholly connected with ancient culture and rituals. In this sense, a chair is much more than what you sit on, a cup more than what you drink from: these objects are to be reflected upon, to be touched and cherished.

As mass manufacturing became widespread in the post-war period, fascinating cross-cultural exchanges began to take place between Japan and the West. These gave rise not only to timeless objects of great beauty and utility, but innovations in materials, form and technology. Far beyond the icons of Japanese design – the perfectly weighted Kikkoman soy sauce bottle, Yanagi’s butterfly stool, the Sony Walkman – the products and objects that have emerged from the country over the past seven decades, few of which have been widely exported, serve to delight and draw admiration. In recent years, a new generation of designers – Nendo, Yoshioka – have taken Japanese creativity into entirely new territory, reconceptualizing the very meaning of design.

No attempt has been made to present a complete overview of Japanese design, until now. Showcasing over eighty designers, hundreds of objects, and contributions from both Japanese and Western design experts, this volume will become the definitive work on the subject for many years to come.

Contents List:

Foreword by Maasaki Kanai • Introduction: The Craft of Japanese Design • The Design Titans • The Designers and Everyday Icons: Tables & Chairs • Essay by Naomi Pollock • Food & Drink • Essay by Makoto Shimazaki • On&Off • Essay by Shinji Hamada • Posters & Packaging • Warp & Weft • Essay by Matilda McQuaid • Lifestyle & Leisure • A–Z of Designers

About the Author:

Naomi Pollock is an American architect who writes about Japanese design and architecture. Her work has appeared in numerous publications on both sides of the Pacific, including A+U, Dwell, Kinfolk, Wallpaper* and Architectural Record, for whom she is the Special International Correspondent. In addition, she is the author of several books, including Modern Japanese House, Made in Japan: 100 New Products, Jutaku: Japanese Houses and Sou Fujimoto. In 2018, she was selected to join the College of Fellows of The American Institute of Architects. Masaaki Kanai is President of Ryohin Keikaku, the retailer and manufacturer of the leading Japanese brand Muji.

Keiko's unique approach to ikebana, the Japanese art of flower arranging, combines traditional techniques with modern tastes. Her influences -- which range from sculpture to today's Western floral design -- come together to create one-of-a-kind arrangements that are authentic and eye-catching, simple and graceful, and possible for anyone to achieve.

This book presents step-by-step instructions for creating 20 stunning ikebana arrangements in a range of sizes and styles. Each of the flower arrangements can be completed in just three simple steps and uses easy-to-find floral materials and containers. The book also includes an introduction to the history of ikebana as it relates to Japan and Japanese culture, as well as a guide to the basic rules of ikebana design and floral techniques. Suggestions for finding and choosing materials and supplies make it easy to learn how to arrange flowers and gain a hands-on appreciation of the art of Japanese flower arranging.

About the Authors:

Keiko Kubo started taking ikebana classes as a teenager in Japan. After coming to the United States to pursue her art, she graduated from the School of Art Institute of Chicago with a master of fine arts degree, majoring in sculpture, and has also studied Western floral art. Keiko resides in Chicago, IL.
Erich Schrempp is a Chicago-based photographer specializing in illustrative images. His fine art and commissioned work can be viewed at www.schremppstudio.com.

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Пролистать книгу Keiko's Ikebana: A Contemporary Approach to the Traditional Japanese Art of Flower Arranging на Google Books.

In 1868, Japan underwent a dramatic transformation following the overthrow of the shogun by supporters of Emperor Meiji, marking the end of feudal military rule and ushering in a new era of government that promoted modernizing the country and interacting with other nations.

Japanese print culture, which had flourished for more than a century with the production of color woodcuts (the so-called ukiyo-e, or “floating world” images), also changed course during the Meiji era (1868–1912), as societal changes and the once-isolationist country’s new global engagement provided a wealth of new subjects for artists to capture. Featuring selections from the renowned Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts’ permanent collection, Japanese Prints in Transition: From the Floating World to the Modern World documents the shift from delicately colored ukiyo-e depictions of actors, courtesans, and scenic views to brightly colored images of Western architecture, modern military warfare, technology (railroad trains, steam-powered ships, telegraph lines), and Victorian fashions and customs.

About the Authors:

Rhiannon Paget is the curator of Asian art at the John & Mabel Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota, Florida. Karin Breuer is curator in charge of the Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts.

A crimson fish wrestles a man. A horned demon stares menacingly. 

These vivid scenes are tattoos, created in pain, incised in the flesh of the Yakuza, Japan's feared secret society of gangsters. They are the visions of the Irezumi, the legendary tattoo artists, who spend years creating living masterpieces. Photographer Sandi Fellman describes this strange and violent world both in her text and in her stunning, large 20 x 24 inch Polaroid photographs.

About the Author:

Sandi Fellman is a well-known photographer whose work has been featured in many one-person and group exhibitions in the United States, Europe, Japan, and Australia. Her photographs can be found in numerous private and public collections, including the Museum of Modern Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bibliotheque Nationale, and Center for Creative Photography. Her work has also been widely published over the past fifteen years.

Among the first titles published at Timber Press, and with more than 150,000 copies in print, "Japanese Maples" is a classic. Japanese maples are unlike any other tree. They boast a remarkable diversity of color, form, and texture. As a result of hundreds of years of careful breeding, they take the center stage in any garden they are found. In the last decade, the number of Japanese maple cultivars available to gardeners has doubled and there is a pressing need for an up-to-date reference. This new fourth edition offers detailed descriptions of over 150 new introductions, updates to plant nomenclature, and new insights into established favorites. Gardeners will relish the practical advice that puts successful cultivation within everyone's grasp. Accurate identification is made simple with over 600 easy-to-follow descriptions and 500 color photographs.

About the Authors:

J. D. Vertrees (1915a"1993) was an entomologist, nurseryman, and educator who collected rare and unusual maples. At one time, his 1A -acre arboretum at Maplewood Nursery in Roseburg, Oregon, had the largest collection of Japanese maples in the United States. He amassed an impressive list of awards during his lifetime, including a Citation for Horticulture Research from the American Horticultural Society, a Special Achievement Award from the Oregon Association of Nurserymen, and the 1980 Thomas Roland Gold Medal from the Massachusetts Horticultural Society. In 1997, Japanese Maples was selected by the American Horticultural Society as one of the 75 Great American Garden Books. Peter Gregory, retired manager of the world-famous Westonbirt Arboretum in Gloucestershire, England, has researched maples and other trees for more than 40 years. He began a career in tree research with the Forestry Commission Research Division and conducted various projects for more than thirty years, including provenance studies, species trials, and experiments on various plant establishment techniques, especially on difficult areas such as exposed sand dunes, mountain slopes, peat bogs, and infertile soils. For five years he managed the Royal Forests of Yardley Chase and Salcey in Northamptonshire before being appointed as manager at the world-famous Westonbirt Arboretum, one of the largest collections of trees in the temperate world-especially famous for its wonderful variety of maples of all species, ages, shapes, and sizes. He has continued his studies of maples since his retirement, becoming Chairman of the international Maple Society, which he helped found in 1990, and Editor of the Society's quarterly journal. He is recognized internationally as one of the leading authorities in all aspects of maples. Peter lives in Cirencester, England, where - besides trees - he enjoys photography, climbing, tennis, and squash.

Drawing on images of women and men from the heyday of Japanese printmaking, this book explores the subtle iconography and complex symbols inherent in the tradition of ukiyo-e (traditional Japanese woodblock printing meaning 'Fleeting World'). The intriguing elements refer to Japanese history, literature, mythology, fashion, folklore and gossip of the Edo period and are at times difficult to discern, let alone grasp, without proper knowledge. Divided into classic printmaking themes such as beautiful women, heroes, actors and shunga (erotic prints), this lavishly illustrated book provides readers with the keys to understanding the hidden meanings in more than 100 top Japanese prints. 

Beautiful women – including ladies from Edo's famous Yoshiwara brothel district – take up much of the book. Heroes and villains illustrate Japan's rich mythological and pseudo-historical past. The popular pastimes of kabuki and sumo are also covered: famous actors play their best-known roles as brave men or delicate geisha. These colourful masterpieces demonstrate the economy of line and powerful expression of the woodblock medium. Each print is explored in the finest detail in order to explain the many riddles of ukiyo-e – that intriguing and captivating mode of visual expression that had such a profound influence on Western art.

About the Authors:

Chris Uhlenbeck has been a dealer in Japanese prints for 40 years. He acted as curator of many exhibitions in the field of Japanese art, starting with the major retrospective exhibition on 20th-century Japanese prints from the Robert O. Muller collection in 1992 for the National Museum of Ethnology in Leiden, The Fondation L'Hermitage in Lausanne and the Musée Marmottan in Paris. From 2007, he fulfilled the role of curator of the Nihon no Hanga museum in Amsterdam for 10 years. Between 2011 and 2021 he created various exhibitions in the Japan Museum SieboldHuis in Leiden: on Hiroshige (2011), Yoshitoshi (2012) Kuniyoshi (2013), Kunisada (2015) and recently on Gekko (2020). He is co-author of the recent Ludion publication Shin Hanga: The New Prints of Japan 1900–1960 (2022).

Josephine Smit is a scholar and lecturer who obtained her master's degree in Japanese Studies from Leiden University, The Netherlands. Specialising in Japanese politics and international relations, she wrote her master's thesis on the evolution of post-disaster mental health care responses in Japan after conducting research for a year at Kobe University, Japan. As a freelancer, Smit lectures on kimono culture. Smit is currently employed as a Japanologist at both Japan Museum SieboldHuis and Hotei Japanese Prints in Leiden doing Ukiyo-e related research and exhibition management.

Jim Dwinger is a scholar of Japanese art history with a specialization in woodblock prints. He is co-author of the recent Ludion publication Shin Hanga: The New Prints of Japan 1900–1960 (2022) and is currently involved in preparing an upcoming catalogue of prints by Utagawa Hiroshige. He is also a member of the editorial board of Andon, Journal of the Society for Japanese Art.

Японський дизайнер пропонує переконливий альтернативний спосіб взаємодії з нашим майном, нашою історією, навколишнім середовищем та один з одним.

Японська фраза «ходо-ходо» походить із давніх часів. Коли сучасний дизайнер Таку Сатох застосовує це до своєї роботи, це означає «якраз достатньо».Дизайн ходо-ходо навмисно стримується, залишаючи можливість людям взаємодіяти з об’єктами відповідно до їхнього унікального відчуття. У розпал споживацької доби Сато побудував видатну дизайнерську кар’єру навколо цієї філософії, створюючи культові роботи в моді, їжі та архітектурі. Його ідеї говорять не лише професіоналам-дизайнерам, а й усім, хто хоче більш продумано рухатися світом. У цьому тонкому, але потужному томі Сатох пояснює свою філософію на реальних прикладах — від естетики застарілої крамниці рамену до дитячого майданчика на даху, натхненного ономатопією. Закликаючи читачів цінувати повсякденні предмети та простори та поставити під сумнів спокусу зручності, він доносить повідомлення, що сягає корінням у минуле, але ідеально підходить до нашого часу.

АКТУАЛЬНА ТЕМА: Оскільки все більше людей починають сумніватися в структурах споживацтва, ця вдумлива книга пропонує інший спосіб бачення світу. Філософія Satoh ідеально узгоджується зі сталим способом життя.

УНІКАЛЬНИЙ ОГЛЯД ЯПОНСЬКОЇ КУЛЬТУРИ: Японія є величезним експортером культури та процвітаючим туристичним напрямком. Багато японських ідей і традицій, таких як ікіґай, лісове купання та вабі-сабі, широко вшановують як шляхи до більш повноцінного життя. У цій книзі представлено ходо-ходо, концепцію, яка ще не широко експортована. Дізнавшись про ходо-ходо, читачі збагатять уявлення про Японію, а також надихнуть дизайнерів та інших творчих людей на їхню роботу.

АВТОРИТЕТНИЙ ГОЛОС: Таку Сато має понад чотири десятиліття досвіду дизайну. Його робота відома в Японії, він працював із великими брендами та музеями та отримав багато нагород. Тут він ділиться мудрістю, отриманою зі свого досвіду в дизайні та глибокої любові до своєї культури.

ДОСТУПНИЙ ВМІСТ: зручний формат м’якої обкладинки ідеально підходить для книги, яку ви захочете прочитати та перечитати. Сатох пропонує захоплюючі та доречні ідеї в нестрашний спосіб.

Про автора:

Taku Satoh створював дизайни для відомих японських брендів, включаючи Issey Miyake. Його нагородили, зокрема, Нью-Йоркським клубом арт-директорів та імператором Японії. Він проживає в Токіо.

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Погортати книгу Just Enough Design: Reflections on the Japanese Philosophy of Hodo-Hodo на Google Books.