View of gallery with prints on the wall, and two armchairs and side tables

Asian Art

The Asian collection is comprised of prints, books, and photographs, primarily from nineteenth-century Japan. Highlights include over 200 woodcuts from the late eighteenth through the twentieth centuries, including color woodblock prints (ukiyo-e) by Utagawa Hiroshige, scenes of foreign travelers, and depictions of the Sino-Japanese War. Also included are 255 Meiji era (1868-1912) hand-colored photographs, with works by Kimbei Kusakabe, including landscapes, scenes of crafts and trades, and portraits of figures in traditional costumes. These views of Japanese culture were primarily created for Western audiences.

A lone figure walks through a Japanese village on a rainy night. Lights from windows glisten on the wet walkway.

Color print of large waves framing a view of Mt. Fuji; a sailboat is visible in the distance

A cat looks out at the landscape below from the window of a nicely decorated Japanese room; Mt Fuji is in the distance

Print of stylized wooded scene with a pond and stone bridge on a blue background

Handcolored studio photo of a young male Japanese vendor between two tall displays of baskets and brooms

Color print of crowd of Japanese samurai and commoners readying cannons as 3 American tall ships sail into the port below

Handcolored studio photo of young Japanese woman holding a parasol against a gust of wind

Color print of dramatic war scene; a Russian admiral stands on the deck of his torpedoed ship looking at a Japanese ship

Color print of an English man and woman in fancy clothes with a white dog on a leash; woman holds a print

Two Japanese warriors battle on a bridge under a full moon; color print in three sections

Kawase Hasui, Rain at Maekawa in Sagami Province, from the series Selected Views of the Tôkaidô Road, 1932, Color woodcut on paper, Gift of Elizabeth B. Reed, 1994.0308

Photo Peter Jacobs

Utagawa Hiroshige, The Sea at Satta in Suruga Province from the series Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji, 1858, Color woodcut on paper, Museum Purchase, Mindy and Ramon Tublitz Fund, 1989.0255

Photo Jack Abraham

Utagawa Hiroshige, Asakusa Ricefields and Torinomachi Festival from the series One Hundred Famous Views of Edo, 1857, Color woodcut on paper, Mindy and Ramon Tublitz Purchase Fund, 1989.0253

Photo Peter Jacobs

Hide Kawanishi, Ike (The Pond), 1957, Color woodcut on paper, Gift of Herbert D. and Ruth Schimmel, 78.002.022

Kimbei Kusakabe, [Basket Seller], c. 1880-c. 1890, Handcolored albumen print on paper, Museum Purchase, 1987.0632

Photo Peter Jacobs

Toshu Shogetsu, Arrival of American Ships: Picture of a Gathering of Feudal Retainers, 1889, Color woodcut on rice paper, Gift of Herbert D. and Ruth Schimmel, 1986.0280.001-003

Photo Peter Jacobs

Kozaburo Tamamura, [Woman with Umbrella], c. 1890, Handcolored albumen print on paper, Museum Purchase, 1987.0542

Photo Peter Jacobs

Ikeda Terukata, Banzai for the Great Victory of the Japanese Imperial Fleet, 1904, Color woodcut on rice paper, Gift of Herbert D. and Ruth Schimmel, 1986.0290.001-003

Photo Peter Jacobs

Utagawa Yoshikazu, True Sketch of English Citizens (Shō utsushi igirisujin), 1861, Color woodcut on rice paper, Gift of Herbert D. and Ruth Schimmel, 1986.0206

Photo Peter Jacobs

Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, Ushiwaka and Benkei duelling on Gojo Bridge: An episode from the Chronicles of Yoshitsune, 1881, Color woodcut on paper, Gift of Donald and Ann McPhail, 2014.024.001A-C

Photo Peter Jacobs

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