I came across this site via Drawn.ca. It's a library of these stunning japanese woodblock prints. Claremont Colleges Digital Library have compiled these examples of late 17th century to early 20th century Japanese woodblock prints from the Scripps College Collection of Japanese Prints by the artists Chikanobu (1838-1912) and Yoshitoshi (1839-1892)
At times these are humorous, but the way they are set up is beautiful. I picked this one in particular by Chikanobu b/c its showing these amazing panels of a story! There are a few that are set up this way, and its really something I'd like to explore in my own work! Loving the way elements overlap and extend over the bounds of the piece!
There are 200+ woodblock prints in this collection - I'm going through them still!
1 comment:
This is my favorite Chickanobu print. Takiyahsha-hime (Princess Takiyasha) was the daughter of Taira no Masakado, a 10th c. lord who rebelled against the emperor, trying to set up his own kingdom in eastern Japan. He was killed, and his daughter pledged to revenge him. She studied magic with gama senin - the monk shown at the top - learning toad magic. The giant magic toad carried out some of her magic spells, much as western witches used black cats. There are a number of kabuki plays that feature Takiyasha, and a number of plays in which other magicians use the giant magic toad.
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