This fully illustrated, 280-page catalogue was published in conjunction with the exhibition Ukiyo-e Prints from the Mary Ainsworth Collection, which traveled to three venues in Japan and culminated in a show in Oberlin. Text is in Japanese and English.

Ukiyo-e Prints from the Mary Ainsworth Collection spans the history of the medium, from early hand-colored prints through spectacular impressions by such artists as Utagawa Hiroshige I, Katsushika Hokusai, and Utagawa Kuniyoshi.

In 1950, the Allen Memorial Art Museum received a surprise gift of more than 1,500 Japanese woodblock prints featuring actors, courtesans, and landscapes of the “floating world” of 17th- to 19th-century Japan. This bequest became a cornerstone of the Allen’s renowned Asian art collection, and 200 of the works traveled back to Japan in 2019 for a tour of museums in Chiba (near Tokyo), Shizuoka, and Osaka.

“The Ainsworth collection represents the history and evolution of Japanese woodblock printmaking, with high-quality examples of the major subjects, styles, and artists of ukiyo-e. Together, they convey much of the richness and complexity of Japan’s print tradition,” said Kevin R. E. Greenwood, the Allen’s Joan L. Danforth Curator of Asian Art.

“This extensive exhibition and its accompanying catalogue have been years in coming to fruition,” said Andria Derstine, John G. W. Cowles Director of the Allen. “We are thrilled to present, for the first time in decades, such a large portion of our Ainsworth collection, both at the Allen and to enthusiastic audiences in Japan.”

Editors and Contributors

Masako Tanabe, Editor, Chiba City Museum of Art; Marie Matsuoka, Chiba City Museum of Art; Saori Oishi, Shizuoka City Museum of Art; Eri Yoshida, Weikado Bunko Art Museum; Tatsuya Akita, Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts; Yasuko Kikuchi, Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts; Hiromi Sone, Mangosteen, Inc.; Kevin R. E. Greenwood, Allen Memorial Art Museum; AMAM Director Andria Derstine; and Helen Mitsu Nagata, Northern Illinois University

The catalogue is available for $50 (includes shipping).

Purchase: