From Hello Kitty to Maneki Neko--Japan is the epicentre of global cat culture! Whether lurking in corners or taking center stage, cats are a ubiquitous presence in Japanese art. Depending on the situation, they may invite good fortune, prompt the viewer to meditate on a tale or provide evidence of an unseen world of magic and supernatural happenings. In 200 charming woodblock prints, paintings, screens and figurines spanning three centuries, Japanese art expert Rhiannon Paget celebrates the rich symbolism and surprising stories surrounding the feline image in Japan. Her book contains essays on the following fascinating topics: Domestic Companion or Household God? Japanese artists represent the great affection and sense of pride which bonds cat owners to their pets The Feline Muse: Feline figures as ideal subjects for artists to explore in fluid lines and organic forms, their glossy fur and markings lending themselves to the interplay of textures and materials Lucky Cats: Auspicious creatures in Japanese culture, symbolizing health, longevity and prosperity Mischief and Mayhem: Japan's rich visual record of cats as witches and feline monsters Philosophers' Cats, Teachers' Pets and Moggies with Messages: The felines deployed to illustrate philosophical and religious ideas, and as conveyors of folk wisdom Plus much more! This delightful book will appeal to anyone with an interest in Japanese art and culture, plus of course to all cat lovers! This collection features works from over 30 institutions across the world, including: Harvard Art Museums Minneapolis Institute of Art Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Rijksmuseum The British Museum The Metropolitan Museum of Art The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo Tokyo National Museum Library of Congress, Washington D.C. Smithsonian Libraries Tokyo Metropolitan Library

A stunning introduction to the history of Japanese printmaking, with highlights from the de Young museum's vast collectionIn 1868, Japan underwent a dramatic transformation following the overthrow of the shogun by supporters of Emperor Meiji, marking the end of feudal military rule and ushering in a new era of government that promoted modernizing the country and interacting with other nations.Japanese print culture, which had flourished for more than a century with the production of color woodcuts (the so-called ukiyo-e, or "floating world" images), also changed course during the Meiji era (1868-1912), as societal changes and the once-isolationist country's new global engagement provided a wealth of new subjects for artists to capture. Featuring selections from the renowned Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts' permanent collection, Japanese Prints in Transition: From the Floating World to the Modern World documents the shift from delicately colored ukiyo-e depictions of actors, courtesans, and scenic views to brightly colored images of Western architecture, modern military warfare, technology (railroad trains, steam-powered ships, telegraph lines), and Victorian fashions and customs.

This fascinating publication showcases the Saint Louis Art Museum’s collection of Japanese military prints and related materials—one of the largest collections of such works in the world. The 1,400 objects in the collection are mostly color woodblock prints, but the holdings also include paintings, lithographs, photographs, stereographs, books, magazines, maps, game boards, textiles, ceramics, toys, sketchbooks, and commemorative materials. This extraordinary body of visual works chronicles Japan’s rise as a modern nation from the beginning of the Meiji Restoration in 1868 through the aftermath of Pearl Harbor in 1942, with a focus on the Sino-Japanese and Russo-Japanese wars. Conflicts of Interest will bring to light an important aspect of Japan’s visual culture and the narratives it circulated for its citizens, allies, and enemies on the world stage.

The Kisokaido route through Japan was ordained in the early 1600s by the country's then-ruler Tokugawa Ieyasu, who decreed that staging posts be installed along the length of the arduous passage between Edo (present-day Tokyo) and Kyoto. Inns, shops, and restaurants were established to provide sustenance and lodging to weary travelers. In 1835, renowned woodblock print artist Keisai Eisen was commissioned to create a series of works to chart the Kisokaido journey. After producing 24 prints, Eisen was replaced by Utagawa Hiroshige, who completed the series of 70 prints in 1838. Both Eisen and Hiroshige were master print practitioners. In The Sixty-Nine Stations along the Kisokaido, we find the artists' distinct styles as much as their shared expertise. From the busy starting post of Nihonbashi to the castle town of Iwamurata, Eisen opts for a more muted palette but excels in figuration, particularly of glamorous women, and relishes snapshots of activity along the route, from shoeing a horse to winnowing rice. Hiroshige demonstrates his mastery of landscape with grandiose and evocative scenes, whether it's the peaceful banks of the Ota River, the forbidding Wada Pass, or a moonlit ascent between Yawata and Mochizuki. Taken as a whole, The Sixty-Nine Stations collection represents not only a masterpiece of woodblock practice, including bold compositions and an experimental use of color, but also a charming tapestry of 19th-century Japan, long before the specter of industrialization. This TASCHEN XXL edition revives the series with due scale and splendor. Sourced from the only-known set of a near-complete run of the first edition of the series, this legendary publication is reproduced in optimum quality, bound in the Japanese tradition and with uncut paper. A perfect companion piece to TASCHEN's One Hundred Famous Views of Edo, it is at once a visual delight and a major artifact from the bygone era of Imperial Japan.