Japanese Woodblock Prints

Sumō

Print showing scenes related to the Soga family.

[Lovers in an autumn meadow]

Print shows a young man and a young woman embracing in a meadow.

[Two lovers embracing in front of a painted screen]

Print shows a young man sitting on the floor, embracing a young woman straddling him.

[A betrothal ceremony]

Print shows an interior scene with a man entering on the right outside a room with several women; on the left shows a similarly dressed man addressing a woman behind a screen.

[A popular beauty]

Print shows a woman, full-length, standing, facing left.

[The spear dance]

Print shows a male dancer during a spear dance.

[Two lovers under an umbrella]

Print shows a man and a woman, full-length, walking beneath an umbrella.

Iwai sagenta [to] katsuyama matagorō

Print shows actors Iwai Sagenta and Katsuyama Matagorō, one reclining on a veranda, the other about to climb steps to the veranda.

Nami ni goshoguruma moyō no tachi bijin

Print shows a courtesan, facing left, wearing a waterwheel and waves pattern kimono.

Daimyō gyōretsu no ezu

Print shows a long procession of men (nobility or government officials) on foot.

Tekkai sennin

Print shows a woman holding her hands over a man's eyes and blowing a puff of air upon which a small male figure ascends; another woman is waving to the man on the puff of air and appears to be offering him a s... more

[Reading a love letter]

Print shows a young woman reading a love letter.

Rajōmon

Print shows a warrior fighting a demon, possibly Ibaraki, at the Rashomon gate.

Tōjin gyōretsu no ezu ichi

Print shows a procession of Chinese men on horseback and on foot, some carrying a palanquin.

Takenuki gorō

Print shows a man, possibly Tokimune Soga (Gorō), uprooting bamboo.

Taka no ha moyō no tachi bijin

Print shows a courtesan wearing feather-pattern kimono.

[Preparing for the first battle]

Print shows a young woman arranging a warrior's hair prior to entering a battle.

[A popular hero, Shibaraku]

Print shows an actor as a samurai making a grand entrance at the "Shibaraku" moment on the kabuki stage.

[A beauty with an umbrella]

Print shows the actor Nakamura Sanya as a young woman standing beneath an umbrella, wearing a head covering and geta.

Yūjo chōkarō

Print shows a courtesan portraying the Chinese sage Zhang Guo Lao Chōkarō releasing his magic horse from a small gourd.

Benkei to kodomo (ataka no matsu)

Print shows the legendary monk warrior Benkei offering gifts to two children who have been gathering pine needles.

Kage e

Print shows two geishas entertaining a man, one is making shadow puppets and the other is playing a shamisen.

Toragaishi

Print shows a woman standing and a warrior attempting to pick up a large rock.

Kaya no uchisoto

Print shows a man, woman, and a child resting outside mosquito netting.

Haha to ko

Print shows a mother and her son with an open book; the boy is resting on top of the book, preventing his mother from reading it.

Shuen

Print shows two geishas and a man eating; there is a shamisen next to one of the women, the other is holding a tea or sake pot.

Sannin no yakusha

Print shows three actors, two playing shamisens and one with a teapot or sake pot, two are in the roles of women.

Ichikawa danjūrō [to] ichikawa monnosuke

Print shows the actor Ichikawa Monnosuke as a courtesan and Ichikawa Danjūrō as a merchant.

[Wild horses running in water, across a river or in surf]

[Wild boar sleeping beneath bushes during autumn]

[Two oxen, one under a willow tree and one under a plum tree]

[A large bull or ox]

[Tiger near a cataract]

[Ram and autumn mallow]

[Cat with black markings on its fur and a fragrant rose mallow]

[Foxes and chrysanthemums]

[Wild boars running, on cliffs, and near pine trees]

[Domestic cat nursing kittens]

[Wolves and winter reeds]

[Deer, two bucks fighting, next to a stream]

[Male and female musk deer]

[Soga Goro making puns]

Print shows one of the Soga brothers, Goro (Tokimune), dressed as a warrior surrounded by text containing puns.

[A lover's quarrel]

Print shows a man, scowling, with a shoulder pole and a basket full of jars and bowls, standing in front of a woman with a smug look on her face.

Ogawa zengorō, ichikawa danjūrō, yamashita kinsaku

Hanauri

Print shows a woman selling flowers in pots on shelves suspended from a shoulder pole.

Ueno ikenohata sakura no hanami no kei

Print shows many people in a pavilion and in Ueno Park viewing blossoms on cherry trees.

[Moon viewing at Shinagawa]

Print shows men and women eating and entertaining while looking at the full moon at a large building or pavilion in Shinagawa, on the Tōkaidō Road.

Hidari izutsu no mae

Print shows a geisha, standing, playing a zither.

San katada no rakugan

Print shows geese descending near a pavilion at the end of a long wharf in a lake, with two people in a small boat in the foreground.

[Rivals contending for a beauty]

Print shows two men arguing with each other over which one has the right to claim the affections of the woman seated behind them.

Ichikawa ebizō no shinozuka goseki yaburi

Setsubun mamemaki

Print shows family members eating beans in a room and a man, with a box of beans, appears about to toss a handful into the room; scene taking place during the annual bean throwing festival to expell demons from... more

[A willing letter writer]

Print shows a man with two women, one of the women is writing a letter.

Kyō

Print shows a man and a woman playing a game, possibly go, on a kimono with a ruled pattern.

[Oman the seller of cosmetics]

Print shows Oman, a peddler selling cosmetics, with a large box strapped to his/her back.

[The beauty Osome]

Print shows Osome, a tragic beauty, full-length, standing, looking at a book.

Ichikawa danjūrō [to] sakata hangorō

Ichikawa monnosuke

[Beauties of the three capitals triptych]

Print shows three courtesans, full-length, standing.

Sanogawa ichimatsu no shakkyō

Sugawara no michizane zō

Print shows Sugawara Michizane, full-length portrait, seated beneath a flowering tree.

[Hanging poems on a cherry tree]

Print shows a woman, full-length, standing, hanging poems in a blossoming cherry tree.

[Playing with a puppet]

Print shows a woman, standing, holding a puppet of a woman above her head.

[Beauty holding a book]

Print shows a woman, full-length, standing in front of an illustrated screen, holding a book.

[Two lovers in a boat]

Print shows a man and a woman in a boat; the man is holding a small drum and appears to be serenading the woman beneath the moon.

[The black knight]

Print shows a man, possibly an actor or a samurai, with sword, holding an umbrella, wearing a black kimono and geta.

[Two girls whispering]

Print shows a woman, sitting, embracing a young girl, and whispering to her.

[Passing a love letter]

Print shows a young man discretely passing a love letter from beneath the folds of his kimono.

Nawasudare

Print shows a child emerging from behind a rope curtain.

Sawamura kodenji to otoko

Print shows two actors, one holding a fan, the other, in the role of a woman, is holding a drum.

Momiji mi sanpukutsui

Ichikawa ebizō no kinzaemon yorikata

Print shows the actor Ichikawa Ebizō as Kinzaemon Yorikata fighting a tiger.

Ichikawa ebizō nakamura denkurō ichikawa yaozō

Kaki mogi[tori?]

Print shows a young man holding a young woman on his shoulders as she reaches to pick persimmons from a branch above them.

Ito zukuri

Print shows two women preparing silk thread.

Migi

Print shows a man and a woman, wearing geta, walking beneath an umbrella next to a blossoming tree.

[Ito nishiki (yarn brocade)]

Print shows stylized designs, possibly of rabbits, for kimonos.

[A monk wearing a mask(?) with a horn, sitting on the ground, beating ...

[Ito nishiki brocade, commonly called anhera-ori (weave)]

Drawing shows floral and vine designs for kimonos.

[Teapot with cherry or plum blossoms]

[Warrior or actor with long hair and bracelets around wrist and ankles...

[An elderly man, seen from behind, bathing in a wooden tub]

Chatsumi

Print shows two women with short benches and small baskets, and a young boy; one of the women is picking tea leaves, the other has finished her task and is departing with the young boy.

[Two musicians seated on a bench, wearing geta]

Print shows a man and a woman sitting on a bench, playing a shamisen.

[Akaki kinran (gold brocade with red background)] [Shiro aya (white tw...

Drawings show stylized patterned designs for kimonos.

[A monk wearing mask(?) with horns, sitting on the ground, beating a d...

[Nishiki brocade with cherry blossoms and wave designs on red backgrou...

Drawing shows stylized flower (cherry blossom) designs for kimonos.

[Ra (Usumono gauze weave)] [Sha gauze weave with stripes].

Drawings show two weaving patterns.

[Kara nishiki (Chinese brocade) with red background] [Kinran (gold bro...

Drawings show stylized floral designs for kimonos.

[Ra (Usumono) gauze weave]

Design drawings for kimonos on fabric.

[Donsu, damask with light green peony arabesque]

Drawing shows peony arabesque design for kimonos.

Chūgoku hanga

Print shows a Chinese wiseman holding a sword and riding on the back of a tiger.

[Momoiro shusu (pink satin)] [Shima shusu (striped satin)].

Drawings show solid and striped designs for kimonos.

Engawa no wakai danjo

Onoe kikugorō [to] nakamura kiyosaburō

Print shows actors Onoe Kikugorō and Nakamura Kiyosaburō, wearing geta, portraying street musicians.

[Nishiki brocade with Amaterasu Kotai Jingu Shinto shrine] [Nishike br...

Drawings show stylized designs for kimonos of a Shinto shrine and a wheelbarrow.

[Nishike brocade with paulownia arabesque, with red background]

Drawing shows bright floral, leaf, and vine designs for kimonos.

[Rinzu (figured satin)]

Drawing shows stylized floral designs for kimonos.

Sawamura Sōjūrō no Soga no Jūrō to Ichikawa Yaozō no Soga no Gorō

Print shows two actors (possibly Sawamura Sōjūrō, 1685-1756, and Ichikawa Yaozō) in the roles of two brothers who attempt to revenge their father's murder.

Ichimura kamezō nakamura kiyoza[sa?]

Print shows the actors Ichimura Kamezō and Nakamura Kiyoza, one portraying a female role.