Traditional Girl's Festival in Japan

Dolls of the Festival at Ginnosuzu Gallery

(the Showa Period)

In Japan, people display a se t of the dolls at home representing the emperor, empress,

attendants, and musicians in a traditional court dress of the Heian Period.

20100206 Kamakura Museum

Ujiie Ukiyo-e Collection

4 Jan. - 14 Feb. 2010

The Kamakura (Treasury)Museum is located in Tsurugaoka Hachimangu,

and now showing Ujiie Ukiyo-e Collection.

(The collection is not wood block prints but painted)

Most of the other collection here are from the Kamakura and Muromachi period, 12th to 16th century in Japan.

The statues are quite impressive!

A world of antiquarian books in Japan

Kanda-Jinbocho, Tokyo

some antiquarian books at Ginnosuzu Gallery, Kamakura

Welcome to a world of antiquarian books

Another cultural heritage in Japan

In China, it is said that they destroyed many books and art works from the previous dynasty every time they changed dynasties. In Japan, many antiquarian books have survived, providing Japan with a rich cultural heritage.

Kanda-Jinbocho is situated in the center of Tokyo with more than 180 antiquarian bookstores and 10,000,000 books.

In the Meiji Period, many universities were established in the Kanda area. The demand for books rose dramatically. Many publishers, printers, binders, agents, and bookstores also came to start their business, helping to create the world famous book town, Jinbocho.

Today the streets of Jinbocho are still fascinating and full of book lovers.

Feb 4 - 16, 2010 A world of antiquarian books

Welcome to

A world of antiquarian books.

"The first botanical encyclopedia in Japan"

(Taisho Edition)

at Ginnosuzu Gallery, Kamakura

The first botanical encyclopedia in Japan

Honzou-Zufu

Honzou-Zufu is the first illustrated encyclopedia of Japanese Flora in 92 volumes covering over 2000 species of plants. It was written and illustrated by Kan’en (Tsunemasa) Iwasaki and completed in 1828 after twenty years of effort. As for plant classification, Iwasaki followed Honzo Koumoku written by Li Shi Zhen in China in 1590, which had a great influence on the study of botany and natural history in Japan. It is classified under medicinal interest for human health and is quite different from the Linnaean classification system.

Honzou-Zufu (Taisho Edition, 1916-1921) is a woodblock print copied directly from the manuscript. The only preceding publication made in the late Edo period, was six volumes from Book V (5) to Book X (10) with uncolored plates. When publishing the Taisho edition, the editor Yonetarou Iwamoto made a great effort to obtain the original manuscripts of the plates, which consisted of more than 2000 blocks necessary to finish the complete collection. Considering the processes involved in making the blocks and the craftsmanship of engravers and printers, it is a set of works almost impossible to realize today.