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THE MODERN JAPANESE PRINT
BOOKS BY JAMES A. MICHENER
THE MODERN JAPANESE PRINT: An Appreciation
THE HOKUSAI SKETCHBOOKS: Selections from the Manga
JAPANESE PRINTS: From the Early Masters to the Modern
SAYONARA
THE BRIDGE AT ANDAU
with A. Grove Day
RASCALS IN PARADISE
THE FIRES OF SPRING
HAWAII
THE BRIDGES AT TOKO-RI
TALES OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC
CARAVANS
THE SOURCE
RETURN TO PARADISE
THE VOICE OF ASIA
THE FLOATING WORLD
JAMES A. MICHENER
THE MODERN
JAPANESE PRINT
AN APPRECIATION
with ten prints by
HIRATSUKA UN'ICHI • MAEKAWA SEMPAN
MORI YOSHITOSHI • WATANABE SADAO • KINOSHITA TOMIO
SHIMA TAMAMI. AZECHI UMETARO • IWAMI REIKA
YOSHIDA MASAJI • MAKI HAKU
CHARLES E. TUTTLE COMPANY: PUBLISHERS
Rutland, Vermont & Tokyo, Japan
Representatives
Continental Europe: BOXERBOOKS, INC., Zurich
British Isles: PRENTICE-HALL INTERNATIONAL, INC., London
Australasia: BOOK WISE (AUSTRALIA) PTY. LTD.
104-108 Sussex Street, Sydney 2000
Published by the Charles E. Tuttle Company, Inc.
of Rutland, Vermont &. Tokyo, Japan
with editorial offices at
Osaki Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 141-0032
Copyright in Japan, 1968, by Charles E. Tuttle Co., Inc.
All rights reserved
Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 62-17555
ISBN: 978-1-4629-0405-1 (ebook)
First popular edition, 1968
Fourth printing, 1982
PRINTED IN JAPAN
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction: 9
Hiratsuka Un'ichi: "Lakeside at the Byodo-in": 15
Mori Yoshitoshi: "Comic Shinto Dancers": 23
Watanabe Sadao: "Listening": 27
Azechi Umetaro: "Mountaineer in Snow": 39
Iwami Reika: "Winter Composition": 43
Maki Haku: "Ox": 51
In Conclusion: 55
PUBLISHER'S FOREWORD
I N 1959 James Michener came to us with a unique and challenging idea. He wanted us to publish, in a deluxe format, an edition of original contemporary Japanese woodblock prints. Mr. Michener's reasons for making this request derived from his personal interest in the woodblock artists of Japan and, as he saw it then, their almost insurmountable struggle to make a living from their art.
As publishers devoted to the concept of cultural interchange between the East and West, we quickly caught Mr. Michener's enthusiasm and agreed to the project.
Then the work began. How should we determine which of the hundreds and thousands of contemporary woodblock prints might be included? We decided to sponsor a contest to be judged by a panel of qualified art experts in the United States and Japan. From a total of 275 prints submitted by 120 artists, ten were chosen as best representing "the richness and power of the modern Japanese print movement." The final selection is a beautiful and significant set of prints, running the stylistic gamut from representational to abstract, from typically Japanese to international, including both great old names and newcomers who are sure to become great.
Finally, in 1962, The Modern Japanese Print — An Appreciation appeared as a limited edition of 475 copies in imperial folio size. The paper was the finest of handmade Japanese vellum; the binding, three colors of pure, fine-weave hemp cloth. It is a book in which we, and the author, take considerable pride, for it is more than a book; it is a work of art.
The Modern Japanese Print met with wide critical and commercial acclaim. Now, several years later, it has been suggested that we
