Final - Handout - Hokusai - Kady Fortier

Hokusai and the art of the woodcut in Japan

Here at the Boston Public Library, we have many printed and online resources on which you can draw. The following research guide details highly recommended scholarly content about the Japanese artist Hokusai and the art of the woodcut throughout history. While some of these sources are directly from our library, all items are accessible through us or publicly open on the internet. All of the sources are published in the last 5 years, guaranteeing you up-to-date information. Following the title of the source will be an explanation of the content and explain any specific strengths (or warn against any weak spots!) Please let us know if we can help in furthering your research, or can provide more suggestions as we continue to update and develop this guide.

Books:

• “Hokusai” by Sarah E. Thompson, with an essay by Joan Wright and Phillip Meredith
• This exhibition book was published by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston in conjunction with their Hokusai exhibit that took place in 2015. Written by Thompson, the assistant curator for Japanese prints at the MFA, the book includes around 50 pieces of artwork by Hokusai that was displayed. Additionally, commentary of the artwork is included throughout.
• This resource is available for in-library use only at the Boston Public Library and can be found under the call number NE1325.K3 T46 2015x.
• “Hokusai’s Great Wave: Biography of a Global Icon” by Christine Guth.
• In this book, Guth takes a ‘case study’ approach to the global phenomenon of what is arguably Hokusai’s most iconic woodblock print. She discusses the many impacts that this print has had in the art world historically, culturally, politically, and geographically. This work provides in depth context for this specific work, but also gives a perspective on Japanese woodblock prints and their influence.
• This resource is available  at the Boston Public Library and can be found under the call number NE1325.K3 A65 2015.
• “Japanesque: The Japanese Print in the Era of Impressionism” by Karin Breuer
• “Japanesque” focuses on the two hundred year history of Japanese woodblock prints, including not only Hokusai, but many of his contemporaries. Illustrated throughout, this book details the techniques of the craft and the impact these pieces had upon the Asian and European art world. Japanese artists as well as Westerners that were inspired by this unique form are featured.
• This book is available through the Boston Public Library and can be found under the call number NE1321.8 .B74 2010.
• “The Harunobu Decade: A Catalogue of Woodcuts by Suzuki Harunobu and His Followers in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston” by David Waterhouse
• Cataloging roughly 700 prints from the artist Harunobu and his students, this resource delves into woodcut prints produced between 1760 and 1770 in remarkable detail. With full color illustrations and descriptions by Waterhouse, this two volume resource is both beautiful and informative.
• This book is available through the Boston Public Library and can be found under the call number NE1325.S85 A4 2013x.

Online resources:

• “Woodblock Prints in the Ukiyo-e Style” The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
• http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/ukiy/hd_ukiy.htm
• This website from The Met includes the following: examples of famous woodblock prints, including citations; a brief essay on the history of woodblock prints and the process of creating one; suggestions on further reading, including books and articles from the Museum Bulletin and Journal. It can be used as a jumping off point to discover more resources, and provides more information on other subjects in Japanese art.
• Ukiyo-e Search Database
• http://ukiyo-e.org/
• This database was created by a computer programmer and woodblock enthusiast, John Resig. His goal was to create a database that allowed the search for woodblock prints across multiple collections. The site currently boasts over 213,000 prints from 24 institutions and, as of September 2013, has received 3.4 million page views from 150,000 people.
• UCSF Japanese Woodblock Print Collection
• http://asian.library.ucsf.edu/about
• The University of California, San Francisco has a large collection of woodblock prints on “health related themes”. While this seems to be a narrow subject, their collection consists of 400 prints from various artists. The prints are housed in their archives, but the website provides a search engine as well as a handful of references.
• The Floating World of Ukiyo-e. Library of Congress.
• http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/ukiyo-e/index.html
• The Library of Congress webpage on the art of Ukiyo-e details an overview and exhibition list of Japanese art spanning from the 17th to 19th centuries. This includes a large bibliography of resources found at the Library of Congress, conveniently broken up by subjects (from “Early Masters” to contemporary Japanese Prints).
• The Art of Asia. Minneapolis Institute of Arts.
• http://archive.artsmia.org/art-of-asia/explore/explore-collection-ukiyo-e.cfm
• The MIA website allows users to search their collection of Asian art. Among other categories, Ukiyo-e is present. The resources provided include videos, as well as a side bar of prints. Clicking on these prints leads to a separate page of metadata associated with the piece. *A warning: clicking one of the example prints leads to this page but the “See More” button / link seems to be broken.
• Ukiyo-e: Pictures of the Floating World. Victoria and Albert Museum.
• http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/u/ukiyo-e-pictures-of-the-floating-world/
• The Victoria and Albert Museum is another great example of an exhibition that has explored this subject. The website provides both historical information as well as the processes of the art. Furthermore, the collection is searchable through their database.

Kady Fortier

http://dentoistradition.com/

Bonus link of a modern artist making Japanese woodcuts of Star Wars characters!