Sackler Gallery ‘Book Club’ Includes Japanese Illustrated Icons

“The shift from brush to block was as revolutionary as today’s from print to electronic media,” explains Ann Yonemura, the Associate Curator of Japanese Art at the Freer and Sackler galleries, as she details the importance of the latest exhibit, “Hand-Held: Gerhard Pulverer’s Japanese Illustrated Books,” now on view at the Sackler gallery through August 11th.

Made by the same process of a recent print exhibition showcasing the artist Hokusai, this exhibit follows the success of that Mount Fuji show with printed books (even some of Hokusai’s!!) that are almost as vibrant as the day they were printed.  But it’s not just the freshness of the color that is so surprising; the subjects are equally as educational — and entertaining!

Newly efficient woodblock printing made “reading culture” available to a wider audience — “It spread high culture to everyone, and low culture upward as well,” according to Yonemura.  “Illustrated books were not only a source of information, but an important medium of artistic expression…”

Similar to a modern day bookstore, the exhibition — made up of some 2100 volumes and 936 titles — is organized by subject matter… and even includes a censored “Adult” section.

Gallery goers particularly should not miss Utamaro’s Shell book (Shiohi no tsuto) and the chance to handle an actual book that is more than 100 years old!