Chats on Japanese Prints

LEC

TER

COLL

on a great collector will wish to acquire considerable numbers of the supreme treasures-large-size Primitives, Harunobu pillar-prints, Kiyonaga triptychs, Utamaro silver-prints, Sharaku portraits, matchless impressions of Hiroshige landscapes, and the like. But even the modest collector who is able to expend only a few pounds a year can, with patience, secure beautiful and desirable pieces. It would be vain for him to imagine that he can have things of the first importance and rarity; but he may confidently expect to obtain delightful minor e

piling up numbers of cheap mediocre sheets; and in the end, after having spent enough money to purchase ten great Kiyonagas, he finds himself the owner of a numerous but undistinguished collection in which there is not a single print of the first rank, nor a single one that will compel the admiration of the connoisseur. It is interesting to have a few prints of each type

at is the lowest sum at which one can hope to get it even with luck. If an expenditure of thirty to eighty pounds is impossible, one must put aside all idea of a Sharaku. But lesser treasures at lower prices are t

be seized when they are offered; one of the characteristics of a great collector is the ability to make these swift and often expensive decisions. He must know the available supply of prints and the prob

llector to bear in mind that quality, not quantity, will prove his most profitable aim. For it is one of the delightful characteristics of collecting that the collector's perception is likely to grow continuously in fineness; and the acquisitions of his earlier yea

cimens that illustrate historical or artistic ideas. The true collector would rather have ten selected prints than the whole mass of prints now in existence, if in the latter case

to specialize, and assemble all that he can of the works of a single man or a single period. A certain well-known collector has selected Harunobu and Shunsho as his special objects of interest, and has brought together a notable and illuminating series of specimens of their work. Another has chosen Hiroshige, and after many years of effort he can display to the student a fine copy of almost every important print by that artist. A third has especially sou

one fine example by each of these designers would represent very fairly the whole scope of the art. In fact, the beginner will not go far astray if at the outset he confines his purchases to the work of the men here listed; he will at least be saved from the danger of accumulating the productions of unnoteworthy designers. The names preceded by two stars are the ten outstanding figures whose historical a

Principa

Bu

Ch

Har

iros

Hok

iyo

yomi

Kiy

yono

yono

Kor

aige

obu (

nobu (O

Mor

Sha

hig

hig

hun

(Kats

un

Shu

un

ke

hin

yo

yo

yoku

obu (Is

tama

Ye

ion presents is almost as definitely an expression of a personal interpretation as is a book on the subj

heet in a collection may prove to be the key that will some day unlock doors leading to treasure-chambers. Both historically and ?sthetically, the field of Japanes

ardently, is not to covet; and the most eager collectors are the very ones who most thoroughly enj

ational aim of the collector. The joy of pursuit which he experiences is a crude but delightful one; and discovery has the triumphant sweetness of all successful effort. The act of restoring and preserving is a pious service to the future, and a delicate handicraft. To arrange examples in accurate relation to each other, and illustrate a conceptio

ion progresses, his chief interest is in works of an ever higher quality. He attempts always to acquire the best, and his knowledge of what is best is always widening. His is the task of judg

rder that he may be driven on to produce a still finer thing to-morrow. The collector, also, must eventually abandon his present position and move forward; and, tragic to confess, perhaps his ultimate triumph comes on that day when the field he long has lov

ultimate effect of a print, is seldom, if ever, exercised except by the private owner. It may be said that if these treasures are in private hands, the public is deprived of them. This is untrue. The great body of the public would pass them by in a gallery, for this is not a spectacular or obtrusive art like sculpture. On the other hand, any person who gives evidence of a reasonable degree of interest can not only obtain free and willing access to all the private collections with which I am familiar, but he may have at his disposal the services of the owner of the collection to explain, interpret, and guide. There are at present scores of highly trained men, of such cultivation as the museums cannot afford to employ except in the highest positions, who are spending weeks and months out of every year in this unpaid work of serving the public; while in the great public collections the ordinary inquirer is left adrift to find his way as best he can through the chaos of an improperly arranged exhibit. In the public collections the prints are o

Governing the C

e collector whenever he decides for or against the purc

ant leader such as Utamaro is more desirable than one by a less original follower such as Banki. A Kiyonaga is a little preferable to an equally beautiful Shuncho, because of Kiyonaga's prime historical importance. The work of certain other men is prized by collectors because of its scarcity; C

-prints are exceptional things, dating from the early years of these men's careers. On the other hand, the silver-prints of Utamaro, the triptychs of Kiyonaga, and th

r importance; and upon the collector's estimate of these qualities will depend his desire to own the print. There are some dull and uninteresting designs by even the most gifted men-work without charm or life. Shunsho was a great sinner in this respect; so

ace, or dignity of the composition proclaims the masterpiece. Kiyonaga's "Terrace by the Sea," Sharaku's portrait of the Daimyo Moronao, Hokusai's "

outnumber the good. In a good impression the lines are all sharp and clean: where the hair meets the temples, every brush-stroke is clearly defined. The blacks are rich and heavy, not sooty or streaked. The colours must be in perfect register; that is, each must exactly fill its allotted space without overlapping and without ragged edges. Prints in which these defects occur are either car

mpletely flat and unshaded. In Hiroshige's time, however, the pigment was often partially wiped from portions of the block, so that in the resulting print the colour

mpressions were probably early ones made under the eye of the artist. The sharpness of the lines, the harmony of the colours, and the delicacy of gradation in any shaded portions are of a perfection lacking in the ordinary copies. It took much care and time, an

s from the "One Hundred Views of Yedo" sometimes bring fifteen or twenty pounds apiece, though multitudes of ordinary copies of the identical print can be purchased for a few shillings each. Badly coloured examples of Hiroshige's work are plentiful and of little value; harmonious and subtly modulated ones are things of unsurpassable beauty, and almost as rare as Kiyonagas. The collector of Hiroshige prints will scrutinize a specimen with the utmost care to determine whether the colour scheme is harmonious, and whether the pigments have been applied in the delicately graded luminous manner that Hiroshige intended. If he finds that the

ating collector has his best chance to match his judgment against that of the dealer. Sometimes one can for a few shi

pression would be convenient. There are to-day no recognized terms by which to describe the v

imself-every line clear and sharp, every colour delicate and perfectly registered; the total ef

ul printer would normally turn out at his best, but without that

t especially fine; clear, but not notably sharp; pleasantly enough coloured, but not distinguished in c

ects appear, such as bad register, raw colour

reases, tears, abrasions, discolorations and fading are all defects of a serious nature. Only experience can enable one to judge whether a certain print is of such rarity that one must waive requirements as to condition and accept a defective copy. In the case of the Primitives, flawless examples are so few that one must needs be content with prints that show decidedly the effect of time. The same is true of pillar-prints. On th

ifference is at once apparent. In the first case, though the surface is unmarred, there is a slight yellowing of the fibres of the paper that prevents their sending out that vibrating luminosity which is a distinctive b

ate coloured copy and a brilliantly white copy is enormous, amounting in some cases to a thousand per cent. Brilliant c

ave been, as a rule, less insistent upon condition than have the Japanese and Americans. There are collectors-though they g

and always will be, very slight. When I began collecting many years ago in Japan, I purchased a number of Hokusai prints that were much blackened by exposure. I thought at the time that any trace of the work of so famous a master was

race of the printing is visible, yet these wrecks and fragments are not the desirable specimens. The slight softening of the colours that almost always comes with age is perhaps not detrimental; but when the luminosity of the colours and the brilliant whiteness of the paper is gone

rked pebbles have: their significance lies in whatsoever spiritual values their designers put into them. They are not curiosities of nature, but monuments erected by the human spirit in its s

of Koriusai and Shunsho, and the delicate pink used by Harunobu, Kiyonaga, and Shuncho, are transformed in the course of time into rusty black; then in the place of the luminous rooms intended when the artist planned his composition, we see dingy mottled caverns of mud. The brilliant early purple turns brown; the still earlier rose colour vanishes entirely. After

y to discover the possibilities of blue-a curious and hitherto unnoted omission." Indeed, the omission had not been previously noted-for the simple reason that it does not exist. Harunobu used blue a great deal, almost always in depicting water or sky; Shunsho used it repeatedly for sky, water, and draperies in the "Ise Monogatari," and as a solid background in certain hoso-ye actor-prints of which two, in their s

itions in which a print may be found will perha

ce of any change since the hour it was printed; co

ful purchaser; perfect, except for having been mounted or washed, or except for slight

o casual observation-small worm-holes, slight tears or creases, moderate

of noticeable injury by tears, small stains, worn or faded

anges as deprive the print of its significance

cular design. The rain scene from Hiroshige's "Yedo Kinko Hakkei" has a higher value than the equally beautiful rain scene from the "One Hundred Yedo Series," for the simple reason that copies of the former are very few, and that many collectors desire it because of it

especially desirable possession because of its associations and because the subject is the great landscape painter. Dated prints are of interest by reason of the light they may throw on uncertain points in Ukioye history. Prints that have belonged to famous collectors, Hayashi, Wakai, Fenollosa, and others, derive a double interest from that fact; the association is interesting, and the pr

collectors have obtained their specimens; and from these, together with a careful study of auction sale catalogues, he forms his judgment. Auction prices are likely, however, to be misleading unless one sees the prints sold; for the fact that a certain print brought only ￡3 at Sotheby's is no indication that another copy of the same print may not be worth the ￡30 asked for it. Variations in condition and quality of impression make vast differences in value. An Artist's Impression of Hiroshige's famous Tokaido print, "Rain on Shono Pass," might bring ￡20; a Fine Impression would perhaps sell for half that; a Good Impression would be worth a

fair condition can seldom be obtained for less than ￡5 to ￡15; the rare large sheets and Pillar-prints generally bring ￡2

pound or two; but the finest designs will bring from ￡10 to ￡20. Buncho is rare; one may expect to pay at least ￡15 to

ptych brings scores or hundreds. Shuncho and the other Kiyonaga followers are only a little less costly. A notable

. From this level, prices go up to several hundred pounds, which has been paid for Utamaro's "Awabi Shell-Divers."

iroshige prints vary so with the quality of the impression that generalizations are impossible. It can only be said that the purchaser who gets a Hiroshige of the

equently ask unreasonably high sums for second-rate designs or defectiv

one hundred and fifty prints, but each one a treasure-there are few, if any, sheets that cost less than ￡5, and many that cost ￡20 to ￡40. Their value ten years

bu called "Serio Bijin Awase," the sheets of Shunsho's "Ise Monogatari," the later upright prints of Hiroshige, the pillar-prints of Koriusai-all of them works of admirable quality-may sometimes be obtained with only a small outlay. Their intrinsic proportion

sses lack the one raison d'être of collecting-beauty. It is true that, as I have said, a really fine Hiroshige may still sometimes be picked up for a song, but such opportunities are rare; they must be waited for a long time, and must be seized with instant determination when they come. The collector who is not well informed is more than likely to find, after a short period

r fine works, one is obliged to lie in wait for them. The average collector will, however, find that in the course of years he gains more b

eas, or Rembrandt's etching of "Jan Six" at ￡3,000. In fairness to Mr. Huish, however, we must continue the quotation. "But these prices," he says, "have been paid by the Directors of Museums and other astute persons who do not expend the limited means at their disposal unless they feel well assured that they (the prints) will in the future be either unobtainable or at enhanced prices." This is quite true. There is no indication that the values of Japanese prints will ever be lower than they are to-day; on the contrary, they have been rising swiftly and steadily for twenty years, and great advances in value may be expected. To these advances many forces are already contributing. Every year a certain number of prints are accidentally destroyed, decreasing the total available supply. No further supplies of large numbers can

d that the very finest prints-those which seem most expensive to-day-are the ones that will rise most rapidly in value as time passes. Poor impressions

l enthusiasm and perception will enable him to select the best works; and without this selection his prints are not likely to be of much ultimate value. When, however, the collector makes his acquisitions out of pure love for their

ger

t reprints, forgeries, and reproductions. These are

d the lines are not sharp. So long as the blocks are in existence these reprints are possible. Early reprints are merely late editions of the originals, and are not obje

pe among the artist's real works, they present difficulties of their own; there is no genuine copy of the same pri

m re-cut blocks. These prints have no necessary difference in beauty or value from those of the first edition. But such cases are few. Far commoner are the reproductions proper-most of them co

rs used by the Ukioye artists. Its surface is compact and glassy, not spongy and pliant. It has a starchy stiffness, and lacks the soft, luminous tone of the genuine. Generally the lines of the block are clumsily cut, lacking the grace and strength

acking the soft brilliancy of the old colours. Very seldom are they graded with care-a repellent harshness marks them.

f age. The Japanese use tea-leaves and various other devices to give this time-worn appearance to the most flagrant reproductions. For all I know, they may have trained worms to eat holes. These damaged, tea-soaked prints would be almost worthless e

urn for councils and deliberations and sometimes total disagreement. There exists in an American collection a certain Kiyonaga print which half a dozen experts believe to be a modern frau

reatest authorities in the world were at first deceived by it. Hokusai's "Imagery of the Poets," "Waterfalls," "Thirty-six Views of Fuji," and "Loocho Islands," have been reprinted; the colours and the lines are a little imperfect; and no one who uses care need be misled by them. They are, however, good enough to be dangerous to the beginner. Utamaro's most famous works, particularly the "Awabi Shell-Divers" triptych, have been reprinted fairly well. Perilous imitations of several of the Primitives are extant

skill. Even the greatest experts have been deceived by them. Fenollosa, at No. 131 of the Ketcham Catalogue, describes in the most glowing terms, as "the

dulent ones. They use their best skill to protect their customers, and the protection is generally efficient. If, however, a dealer is unwilling to give assurance in writing t

e that he has not, and not try to evolve one from his inner consciousness. Nothing is more ludicrous than to see such a person in a print-shop in Japan. He turns over pile after pile of prints, selecting those which his judgment tells him are "really old." What he generally means is, "really dirty." Advice from bystanders is not often welcomed by him, and the only peaceable thing one can do is to leave him to his own curious devices. There is a certain malicious pleasure to be obtained in going through the piles suc

a print, but unable to tell exactly why, discard the print. Your whole accumulated experienc

a Coll

desirable, since fading may result; dampness is to be guarded against because of the danger of mildew, a terrible foe; care in handling must be

ken by a collector between the time when he becomes the owner of a new print and the

he condition of the sheet is flawless, nothing is required. If its condition is in one way or another defective, it is the task of th

his Hiroshiges, leaving only those portions that particularly pleased him. If the feelings of later collectors have any potency in heaven, these men are now in hell. Not only is any attempt to improve upon the artist's work a contemptible piece of presumption, but even the mere effort to repair damages inflicted by time may be an unwise venture. Frequently such injuries could be remedied by an expert were it not that some preceding bungler, with the best intentions in the world, has, out of sheer inexperience, made the injuries irre

auty will treasure the sheets he once owned, and he will deserve their reproaches or their thanks according to the respect he has shown for these works. He is custodian for posterity, and his trust is one worthy of careful thought. He canno

this rendering objectionable. If the colour has faded out, do not try to paint it in; possibly some one else may find the mere black-and-white composition

e, of all collectors, the most reluctant to essay any manipulation whatsoever. To witness the repeated examinations and deliberations which the competent

colour will come out in the course of the process, and the brilliance of the print will suffer slightly. Certain prints should be washed only if it is absolutely necessary. Harunobu prints with transparent red in them, Shuncho's that have purple, and any print that contains a delicate pigment known to collectors as "surimono blue," should be kept out of water if possib

ned sheets of paper should be kept in water only long enough to become wet through; longer imm

ed on the back of the print, this is carefully peeled off after the paste has become thoroughly wet. Adhering daubs of paste may be rubbed off with the fingers. Sometimes a very brown and dirty print can be cleaned a little b

loth, the back of the print is smoothed out so that it lies perfectly flat and even. Another sheet of cardboard is then placed on top of it, and the two sheets, with the print between them, are put away under heavy weights, such as two or three portfolios, and allowed to remain u

prints that have been damaged and skilfully mended will float away in two or three pieces upon immersion. These and other possible troubles m

of paper of the same colour as the print. A collector will have on hand a number of worthless damaged prints of various shades, out of which he cuts pieces for this purpose. Inlaying is more difficult; it involves either ins

wledge of the behaviour of the curious fibrous Japanese paper is necessary for success; the expert generally works under a glass, and prays continuously while he works. Stains that have soaked deeply into the paper are almost

Koriusai and many other artists, can be removed and the original brilliance brought back. The same is true of a certain white that blackens wit

to fill in the hole so that it matches its surroundings. Water-colours and a fine brush are employed. But on no account should the surface o

ng on the back of it while damp a dampened sheet of thin, tough Japanese paper. The oper

te to the two upper corners of the print, and affix these lightly to the mount. Over this is then placed a mat, with a hole cut to fit the print exactly, covering and holding down the print's edges, and protecting it from abrasions. The size of the mount and mat is determined by individual taste; 3 or 4 inches margin would seem to be the minimum desirable. After many experiments I have adopted 22

toring, and place the three mounts side by side only when exhibiting them. If the two end sheets are mounted so that they come very close to the right and to the left-hand edges of their respective mounts, the effect of the three ass

to each print. Others use the bottom of the mount under the mat for that purpos

t on shelves and protected from dust as much as possible. Within the portf

r unwisdom of their course; for the thing is done, and many a fine print is now indelibly branded with these insignia. But it may be pointed out that the present practice of reputable collectors does not sanction such acts. Should any coll

ould pass-as a print might easily pass-through the hands of twenty collectors? And lastly, is there not a certain betrayal of petty conceit when the mere temporary owner of a great work of art judges the fact o

clu

f a wider circle than that limited group of collectors who have been devoted to it in the past. Alien thoug

a picture of Galahad riding for the Grail is a lofty thing, and that a picture of the wings of the theatre during a ballet is a base one. Hence has arisen that unspeakably childish modern scho

The same may be said in the case of a poem. The glory of poetry is not that it furnishes elevated sentiments in rhyme for public speakers to quote, but that it embodies music and thought c

ose familiarity with the productions of great artists gradually develops in the spectator an understanding of pro

berated from combination with elements of accidental and personal charm. They contain the quintessence of all those harmonious and significant qualities which men desire of life. He who really takes them into his consciousness will be repelled by disorder, dullness, and

N

N

134, 3

see Kwa

ee Kwai

, see

kuni

maro

yuki

ki,

to,

sen,

hism

185, 2

see Okumu

ro,

ro, see

anob

shige

nch

ryu

, 319

see Na

itio

n, see Y

oku,

see Kwa

see Kw

see Kwa

erie

bu, 10

yama

nobu

o,

tei,

kusai

see Okumur

u Era,

hich

u, see

, see

ei,

yo,

ichi

ei, 3

ushi

maro

zan

o, see

uji

i, see U

mits

29, 136, 20

shig

tosh

tsug

awa T

maro

sada

I, 357, 37

hige

ige II

nobu

see Okumu

kei

uba

uga

uju

mio,

, 258,

shu,

sui,

tai,

tei,

-un,

yei,

uyo

iu,

i,

ogatari

aro,

yas

an,

tosh

see

ee Okumur

maro

hool, 5

wa Scho

a (Kichi

a (Yoshi

unob

ju,

see Ma

i,

hi,

aro I

aro I

sai

en,

maro

oak

a, 84,

u (Tori

(Kondo Su

e (Tori

ide I

hiro

hisa

kats

kuni

masa

asu,

e, 84,

tsu, 8

u II, se

III, see

o (Tori

oto I

, 217, 241,

nobu

bu II,

bu (Ko

orō

ada I

ada I

sato

shig

somo

tada

ada I

ada I

tomo

tei,

toki

tosh

tsug

ne (Tor

sune

yasu

yuki

an,

see Shi

suken

ai, 15

aki,

ao I

ao I

chik

fusa

hana

hiko

ane I

ane I

hiro

hisa

kats

kiyo

maro

aru I

aru I

sa I,

II, see K

II, see Ku

ichi

ichi

mits

mune

naga

obu I

obu I

ada I

ada I

ada I

tada

taka

ohisa

taki

tane

tera

teru

toki

tora

sugi

sugi

tsum

asu I

asu I

yosh

yuki

eimon

etsud

see Kita

sen

eimo

scap

ro, see

tsudō

fusa

(Hishik

(Kitao)

u (Okum

nojo

taka

yosh

ks,

(Tanaka

bu II,

ei, 5

nobu

imar

maro

ko,

maro

unob

kuni

obe

fusa

masa

mori

naga

nobu

shig

tada

tane

tsug

nobu

nobu

ide I

ide I

mats

shi, s

iren

o,

ra Scho

rama

, see Kw

e, see K

u, see K

115,

see Y

me,

Scho

wa,

u-y

s, 100, 123,

s, 63, 12

hrome

ing,

ces

ko,

shi

ei,

sen

shu

en,

kin

jo,

oku,

sai

shi

fusa

haru

hide

hiro

kage

masa

masu

(Hasegawa

u (Tamu

tora

tosh

yosh

chō

ko,

cho,

iga

iho

ijo

en, 2

kyo

cho

ga,

ka,

o, see

, 260, 299,

okan, 1

efus

ehar

, 182, 19

III, see Y

enag

bu (Hir

chiusai), se

u (Kawas

(Nishimura

yūkwado Ichi

u (Tsune

u (Yamam

(Yanagawa)

eyam

, see

ha,

, see M

imar

see Kiy

yu,

mbe

sai,

toku

n, see K

cho

e Ishikaw

Katsukawa

ikawa), see

beni

ndo

kaku

ken,

nki

kio,

iosai

, see

umitsu), se

atsukawa)

II, 1

(Kichos

kyok

nri

mono

rin,

an, 2

, see

shi,

sei,

tei,

sen,

, 134, 174, 186, 19

ho II

sui,

toku

, 193,

yen,

zan,

eido

n,

ai,

aku

iku

u, 27

see

kudo

yo,

nobu

haru

aku,

kusai and Yan

shi, s

maro

see Okumu

ge,

nobu

shig

133, also

see Kwa

see Kwa

wa Dyn

nobu

fusa

Scho

Schoo

imar

inob

iyuk

see Kwa

ru, 19

un

I, 320,

iro I

hisa

kiyo

I, 328,

II, see

III, see

IV, see K

V, see Ku

kuma

maro

maru

masu

naga

(Ishikawa

u (Utag

ge, see

tych

itagawa), se

o (Tanim

ka Tan

asa,

chool, 5

257, 260,

ro II

a Scho

en,

wo

to Sch

mich

nobu

, see Kw

cho

ju,

ki,

Rekisen

ishi's Pu

ru,

sen

262, 4

hin,

o, 27

sui

zan

cho

kyō

shi

chika

ifuj

ifus

ikat

ihar

ikag

iku,

iki,

ikaz

ikun

maro

maro

imor

imun

isat

u (Fujik

(Komai),

bu (Tam

(Yamomoto)

itak

itom

itor

toshi

tsuna

tsuru

tsuya

iyuk

iume

, 210, 25

aki,

aro I

aro I

sho,

IN GREAT

BROTHER

LONDON A