Kabuki Japanese Theatre Prints
Kabuki Japanese Theatre Prints
Rosina Buckland
National Museums of Scotland
ISBN: 9781905267897
Pages: 144pp
Illustrations: 75 Color
Paperback
- If you love Japanese prints you will treasure this collection.
The blend of music, dance, acrobatics and fantastic costuming that is Kabuki has been a major theatrical form in Japan. Artists depicted the famous Kabuki actors, and by the 19th century thousands of these woodblock prints were themselves a form of entertainment, much like magazines and posters came to be in our modern age. These prints help to bring alive the energy, variety and sheer excitement of this lavish visual spectacle, and allow us a glimpse into the glamorous world of the Kabuki star.
As the craze for Japanese art and design in Europe peaked in the 19th century, National Museums Scotland was able to acquire about 4,000 of these splendid prints. They are by Japan's most celebrated artists - all of whom are represented in this book - Utagawa Kunisada, Utagawa Kuninao, Utagawa Toyokuni, Utagawa Kuniyasu, Utagawa Kuniyoshi, Hokuei, Kunisada II, Toyohara Kunichika, and Adachi Ginkō.