Jim Breen's Ukiyo-E Gallery

Last updated: 15 February 2010

(Please note that I do not buy or sell ukiyo-e or any other Japanese art, nor do I appraise Japanese prints. I am totally ignorant about art dealers in the US.

Also, while I'd like to help people identify artists of works, it usually takes a lot of time, and I am afraid I have none to spare. Please try elsewhere. I cannot advise you who to approach, as I simply do not know anyone outside my own city. If you live near a large gallery, you may get some useful advice from a curator. Also a knowledgeable art dealer may be of help, but don't expect too much free advice. There are many many books available.

Emailed requests about any of the above will usually be ignored.)

You may be interested in my short manifesto on copyright and copying.

Displays in My Gallery

The following artists are represented in my gallery:

• Hiroshige
• Utamaro
• Eizan
• Hokusai
• Harunobu
• Sharaku
• Shunsho
• Shun-ei
• Kiyonaga
• Kunichika
• Yoshitoshi
• Miscellaneous

My List Of Other WWW Galleries.

• Hans Olof Johansson's ukiyo-e page in Uppsala, Sweden. He also has an excellent print collection.

• the database of Ukiyoe Caricatures 1842-1905 at the University of Vienna.
• the Hiroshige Posters site has many prints and posters on display, as well as other Hiroshige information. Acts as a front-end for sales of posters via Art.com.
• The Art of Japan is an online art dealership with many fine images of works in its catalogue.
• the Edo Prints Gallery in New York. A lot of prints on sale; all viewable online with good annotations.
• the Baiten.de site combines an on-line gallery with articles about prints, a small database of seals, etc. You need to be able to read German to get the full value. It has a small stock of prints on display and for sale: go the the Shop link and click on Gesamtpreisliste.
• the Ukiyoe-Gallery.com site has a large on-line gallery, with a particularly good coverage of Shin Hanga. It also has a Library collection which has extensive information and links on Ukiyoe, printing, authenticating, etc.
• in London we find Japan Print Gallery, which has an excellent collection of prints on sale, and some extremely good scans in their catalogue.
• the Artelino WWW auction site, which has an excellent set of articles on Ukiyoe artists.
• the Japanese Woodblock Print auction house. A lot of interesting displays, and very good for browsing around and seeing what is on offer and the prices that are being fetched.
• The Hokusai Museum in Obuse has a small collection of well-annotated images, plus a lot of other useful information.
• The Ronin Gallery has an excellent page with a lot of useful leads and other information.
• The Tokugawa Gallery is well worth a visit. It has many prints on display, including a complete vertical set of Hiroshige's Toukaidou.
• the UCLA Hammer Museum has an online collection of Japanese prints.
• The Huys den Esch Gallery in the Netherlands specializes in Japanese prints. Some excellent scans are available from their pages.
• The Akitsu Gallery, a commercial gallery a number of images on display, along with ordering information.
• The Ibasen Ukiyo-e Gallery page. Another commercial gallery, but it has interesting small images of works on sale, including their prices.
• The display of Japanese Art and Architecture at the WebMuseum, Paris.
• The Castle Fine Arts Gallery specializes in Japanese art, and has a fine online display.
• The Nagoya Broadcasting Network Museum Home Page, which leads to their Gallery (which has rotating exhibitions, some of which are Ukiyoe). Or go straight to the Edo Trip. An outstanding site, lots of pictures and information.
• Matthew Johnson's Ukiyo-e Collection, which has some excellent Kabuki scenes, among others.
• Charles Goodwin's page on Yoshitoshi, that truly strange late master of ukiyoe.
• Sharaku World, which includes a wealth of material, including some superb Sharaku prints.
• John Boyd's Ukiyoe Page, which has some introductory texts, well annotated copies of much-travelled Hokusai & Utamaro images, and links to other sites.
• The Japan Ukiyo-e Museum, Matsumoto - exhibits from the Sakai collection
  
• Jamie Marconi: Ukiyo-e
  
• The ETC Web Museum which has an excellent ukiyo-e collection
  
• A Selection from the Tobacco & Salt Museum(!), which includes several excellent prints by Utamaro and Hiroshige (text in Japanese).
• A Selection of actor prints by the Taisho/Showa artist Shunsen, taken from the Kushigata Shunsen Museum of Art. (text in Japanese)
• Keep an eye on the Centro Studi d'Arte Estremo-Orientale, which has a print collection, and does occasional exhibitions. (This page is in Italian.)
• Hotei Publishing has some books on Ukiyoe and calendars featuring prints.
• Eric Fandrich's eCard site has the facility to send cards based on Ukiyoe prints.
• the online commercial gallery JapanARTya has many reproductions of Ukiyoe for sale.

Visit a Printmaker

David Bull is a woodblock printmaker, who has prepared a fascinating WWW site explaining his art. He is preparing a major reproduction of Shunsho's famous 100-print "Hyaku-nin Isshu". Well worth a visit.