Books 15


to 1915, the book encompasses painting, calligraphy, sculpture, prints, ceramics, lacquerware, textiles, basketry, metalwork, and cloisonné. Rosina Buckland challenges the common misconception that in this era foreign influence diluted the supposed ‘authenticity’ of Japanese art. Instead, she highlights the development of distinctively Japanese artistic practices that incorporated new stimuli from overseas. She also dispels assumptions of artistic decline in the early Meiji era by examining the period from 1865 to 1885.


In the Service of the Shogun by Frederick Cryns, Reaktion Books, ISBN 9781789148640, £16


In 1600, English helmsman William Adams washed ashore in Japan and was interrogated by Tokugawa Ieyasu, Japan’s most powerful warlord and soon-to-be shogun. Far from executing Adams as a pirate, Ieyasu made him one of his most trusted advisers. Tis biography traces Adams’s rise from humble pilot to a position of immense influence in Japan’s foreign relations. It unravels the subsequent diplomatic manoeuvres of the Western powers in the shogun’s empire, and Adams’s eventual downfall. Tis is the first full biography of Adams based on original Dutch, English, Spanish, Portuguese and Japanese sources, and includes much previously unknown information. Cryns tells the authentic story of Adams’s chequered life in its historical context, exploring Adams’s complex inner feelings.


A Gentleman from Japan by Thomas Lockley, Hanover Square Press, ISBN 9781335016713, £25


On 12 November, 1588, five young Asian men, led by a twenty-one- year-old called Christopher, travelled up the River Tames to meet Queen Elizabeth I. His epic sea voyage had spanned Japan, via the Philippines, New Spain (Mexico), Java and Southern Africa. On the way, he had become the first recorded Japanese person in North America. Now Christopher was the first ever Japanese visitor to England.


Hiroshige’s One Hundred Famous Views of Edo by Andreas Marks, Tuttle, ISBN 9784805317716, £34


Utagawa Hiroshige’s landscape series One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (modern-day Tokyo), first published in the 1850s, is among the best-known collections of Japanese


prints and was revolutionary in its day. Individual prints from this collection are regarded as among the finest works in all of Japanese art. In this series, Hiroshige captures 118 locations in and around Edo, today’s Tokyo, during all four seasons and often from hitherto unknown and unique perspectives. Tese views were first printed in exquisite luxury versions, incorporating innovative woodblock printing features like colour gradation. No complete set of the early versions exists today and this is the first book to present a complete set of the deluxe early printings, sourced from 32 different museums and private collections.


Fashion and the Floating World: Japanese Ukiyo-e Prints by Anna Jackson, V&A Publishing, ISBN 9781838510503, £35


Te book explores the important role that woodblock prints played in the fashionable world of Edo-period Japan (1603-1868). Over 100 ukiyo-e prints offer a vivid view of the culture of entertainment, style and glamour that developed in bustling urban centres. Curators bring to life the scenes and figures depicted, highlighting the fashions, dress accessories and hairstyles shown in these colourful and compelling images by artists such as Utagawa Kunisada and Utagawa Hiroshige. Benefiting 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.


The Martyr and the Red Kimono by Naoko Abe, Chatto & Windus, ISBN 9781784744533, £22


On 14 August 1941, a Polish priest named Maximilian Maria Kolbe was murdered in Auschwitz. Kolbe’s life had been remarkable. Fiercely intelligent and driven, he founded a movement in Catholicism and spent several years in Nagasaki, ministering to the ‘hidden Christians’ who had emerged after centuries of oppression. A Polish nationalist as well as a priest, he gave sanctuary to fleeing refugees and ran Poland’s largest publishing operation, drawing the wrath of the Nazis. His death was no less remarkable: he volunteered to die, saving the life of a fellow prisoner. It was an act that profoundly transformed the lives of two Japanese men. Tomei Ozaki was just seventeen when the US dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki, destroying his home and his family.


rev AAN ad BOOK REVIEW ISSUE.qxp_Layout 1 11/4/24 10:08 AM Page 1 HAVE YOU OVERLOOKED A GREAT BOOK FROM FLOATING WORLD EDITIONS?


Japanese Scrolls THEIR HISTORY, ART & CRAFT


William DeLange & Teruo Takayanagi


Traces the scroll’s fascinating journey from religious artifact to popular art form, and details the traditional pro- cess by which scrolls are still made by Japanese craftsmen, including termi- nology, materials, and methods. A comprehensive work of interest to all connoisseurs of East Asian scroll art.


Seeing Zen ZENGA FROM THE KAERU-AN COLLECTION John Stevens & Felix Hess


Curated from the over 560 pieces of a col- lection representing the entire spectrum of the genre, both chronologically and thematically, each presented on a full page in color, with accompanying Japanese text from the artwork, English translation, and contemplative commentary. Includes artist biographies.


240 pp, 8.5 x 11, hard, 224 color photos, 978-1-891640-88-9 / $60 344 pp, 8.5 x 12, hard,180 color photos, 978-1-891640-97-1 / $70


The Cormorant Fishing Boat A JAPANESE CRAFTSMAN’S METHODS


Douglas Brooks


Documents the building of a unique traditional watercraft with a Japanese master, introducing readers to signifi- cant aspects of Japanese wooden boat- building, including design and measurements, workshop and tools, wood and materials, joinery and fasten- ings, plus secrets of the craft.


84 pp, 8.5 x 11, soft, 120 color photos, 978-1-953225-01-6 / $29.95 Get 40% off these list prices by ordering directly by email to: USsales@ACCartbooks.com or calling 212-645-1111 and mentioning your Asian Art Newspaper discount. ASIAN ART | WINTER 2024


Yoshida: Three Generations of Japanese Printmaking by Monika Hinkel, Paul Holberton Publishing, ISBN 9781913645694, £30


Tis catalogue accompanies the important contribution of the Yoshida family to Japanese woodblock printing, from patriarch Hiroshi down to the current generation, led by Yoshida Ayomi. Te story of the Yoshida family has been


woven into the narrative of Japanese printmaking across two centuries, with each generation infusing this traditional art form with their sensitivity and imagination. Trained as a painter and watercolourist, Yoshida Hiroshi (1876-1950) was a pioneer of the shin-hanga artistic movement, which revived the traditional ukiyo-e focusing on beautiful landscapes and landmarks while combining them with Western influences. His incredible corpus of woodblock prints, inspired by his travels across Japan but also in Europe, Southeast Asia, Africa, and North America, greatly contributed to the popularity of Japanese prints in the West. A rare instance in the early 20th-century Japanese art world, the Yoshida legacy relies also on the important contributions of its women: first Fujio (1887-1987), Hiroshi’s wife, a watercolourist, painter and printmaker, who was the first Japanese woman artist to gain international acclaim. Her style developed over time from naturalism to greater stylisation and organic abstraction, with her late still lifes strikingly balancing boldness and sensuality. Toshi (1911- 1995) and Hodaka (1926–1995), Hiroshi and Fujio’s sons, represent the second generation of this artistic dynasty; Toshi introduced post-war abstraction to the Japanese printmaking process, while Hodaka pushed these modernist tendancies further, achieving a unique personal style inspired by the sosaku hanga movement of artistic self-expression. His wife Chizuko (1924–2017) co-founded the first group of female printmakers in Japan, the Women’s Print Association. Her works sapiently connect popular art movements like Abstract Expressionism with Japanese printmaking. Te youngest member of the Yoshida family is Ayomi (b 1958), daughter of Hodaka and Chizuko, whose practice bridges the gap between ukyio-e and contemporary art thanks also to the exploration of organic materials. Her work is represented in the exhibition.


Masatoshi Asari worked on a farm in Hokkaido during the war and was haunted by the inhumane treatment of prisoners in a nearby camp. Both men drew inspiration from Kolbe’s sacrifice, dedicating their lives to humanity and justice. Ozaki followed in his footsteps and became a friar. Asari created cherry trees as peace offerings.


The Shortest History of Japan by Lesley Downer, Old Street Publishing, ISBN 9781913083632, £14.99


Ever since US Commodore Matthew Perry forced Japan to open its borders in 1853, the culture of this remarkable and distant archipelago has enriched Western life. At the same time, the country has embraced foreign institutions from baseball to barber shops. Yet for centuries under the rule of the shoguns, the islands were largely sealed off from the outside world. In charting a course between openness and insularity, Japan has found a way to become ultra-modern while breathing new life into its own unique traditions. Te author brings her expert storyteller’s eye to the sweep of Japanese history. Here are the emperors and warlords, the


samurai and women warriors, the merchants and geisha who shaped this extraordinary modern society. From the hunter-gatherers who fashioned the world’s first pots for the novel-writing ladies of the 11th-century Heian court, from the devastation of Hiroshima to today’s economic and cultural powerhouse, this is an indispensable, riveting history of the land of the rising sun.


Precious Beyond Measure: A History of Korean Ceramics by Beth McKillop and Jane Portal, Reaktion Books, ISBN 9781789148671, £35


Tis illustrated history of the use of fired clay in Korea spans ancient times to the present day. Drawing on the latest research from Korean scholars, the book features a wide range of examples from archaeological sites and museums. In addition, it offers a rare glimpse into the world of modern North Korean ceramics. Te authors devote substantial chapters to the refined celadons of the Goryeo and porcelains of the Joseon dynasties from the 10th to the 20th century, as well as an array of blue-and-white vessels. Merging maritime archaeology, textual evidence, and kiln excavation reports, this book


engages with Korea’s domestic and international spheres in surprising ways.


Shinto: The Kami Spirit World of Japan by Sokyo Ono and William Woodard, Tuttle, ISBN 9784805317938, £9.99


Tis is a concise guide to the fundamental elements of the Shinto religion – its rich mythology and symbols, intricate rituals, festivals, ancestral spirits, dramatic architecture, and a profound belief in the divine presence in the natural world around us. Tis modernised classic, with new images and a new foreword by Hector Garcia, reminds us of the intrinsic connection between humanity and nature. Shinto’s reverence for the divine in all aspects of nature can inspire and guide us to achieve a more harmonious and sustainable future. It explores the influence of Shinto on all aspects of contemporary Japanese life and culture. From shrines nestled in wooded landscapes to the tapestry of contemporary Japanese manga, films, and video games featuring Kami spirits and characters – Shinto is ever-present.


The Three Kingdoms of Korea by Richard D McBride, Reaktion Books, ISBN 9781789148756, £18


Korea’s Tree Kingdoms period is a genuine ‘lost civilisation’, during which ancient realms vied for supremacy during the first millennium. Nobles from this period’s feuding states adopted and adapted Buddhism and Confucianism through interactions with early medieval Chinese dynasties. In the mid-7th century, with the assistance of the mighty Chinese Tang empire, the aristocratic Silla state ultimately unified the Tree Kingdoms by conquering the militaristic northern kingdom of Goguryeo and the culturally sophisticated state of Baekche. Weaving together legends of founding kings, tales of wars and political intrigue, and narratives of fascinating individuals – including flower boys, wise monks, loyal scholars, and virtuous women – this exploration sheds new light on a foundational period that continues to shape Korean identity today.


The Korean Myths: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes and Legends


by Heinz Insu Fenkel, et al, Thames & Hudson, ISBN 9780500027660, £14.99


Korean myths are a living and evolving part of society, in both the North and South. With the export of Korean film across the globe, K-pop, fashion, K-dramas, literature


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