Title: Woodblock kuchi-e prints : reflections of Meiji culture /
Authors: Merritt, Helen.; Yamada, Nanako, 1939-
Publisher: University of Hawai'i Press,
Year: 2000
Subjects: Color prints, Japanese; Illustration of books Japan; Frontispiece.
Abstract: "Woodblock Kuchi-e Prints: Reflections of Meiji Culture is a pioneer exploration of a previously neglected genre of late Meiji art: the type of handmade multicolor book frontispieces known as kuchi-e. Early European collectors assumed that the Japanese woodblock tradition came to an end in Western-tainted prints. Although many crudely colored prints of subjects such as steam trains and men in derby hats did flood the Japanese market, the works introduced in this readable volume make clear that there was another class of popular woodblock tradition unknown to foreigners that continued into the early twentieth century.