ART OF EDO JAPAN, The Artist and the City 1615-1868 by Christine Guth, 1st edition 1996, $40.00.
This book takes as its premise that a strong sense of urban and regional identity is one of the distinguishing features of Edo-period culture. It surveys the activities of selected artists in their physical and socio-economic environment to bring into relief the cultural dynamics within and among four major cities: Kyoto, Edo, Osaka, and Nagasaki. Since the movement of artists between cities, and between city and country, played such an important role in artistic developments, it also touches on these reciprocal and mutually reinforcing relationships. In excellant condition, 176 pages, 6 1/2" x 9 1/4" softcover w/ no dustjacket

THE ART OF ARRANGING FLOWERS, A Complete Guide to JAPANESE IKEBANA by Shozo Sato $00.00.
This book is intended as a complete introduction to Ikebana, the Japanese art of flower arrangement. Beginning with the history and development of the art, and its place in Japanese culture, it introduces the readert to the eleven basic styles. Next comes a large section devoted to vases, materials, tools, and methods. Text and pictures explain how to keep flowers fresh, how to select and prepare both fresh and dried materials, and how to make the most effective use of them. There are twelve lessons in creating arrangements in the Moribana style. This is the most carefully detailed and profusely illustrated guide of its kind, enabling the reader to create many beautiful arrangements while learning all the necessary techniques of the art. Finally, there is a section devoted to advanced techniques and designs, both classic and modern, and to the setting of mood.. In excellant condition, 366 pages, 10 1/4" x 12" hardcover w/ no dustjacket

THE ARTS OF HON-AMI KOETSU: JAPANESE RENAISSANCE MASTER
by Dr. Felice Fischer, The Luther W. Brady Curator of Japanese Art and Acting Curator of East Asian Art, with Dr. Edwin A. Cranston, Dr. Fumiko E. Cranston, Ms. Kyoko Kinoshita, Kumakura Isao, Saito Takamasa, and Yamazaki Tsuyoshi, published by the Philadelphia Museum of Art 2000. $105.00.
"The full translation of every text makes it possible for all readers to appreciate the interplay of [image, calligraphy and text] in the catalogue...Overall, Ms. Fischer has done a terrific job of bringing together many voices into one. The flow of the writing and its unity in style and storyline hold one's attention even next to the captivating works of art." Tony Luppino, Arts of Asia January/February 2001.
American audiences will have the rare opportunity to see outstanding examples of the work of the celebrated early 17th-century Japanese artist Hon'ami Koetsu (1558-1637) in the first-ever comprehensive survey of the artist's work outside Japan in the exhibition and accompanying catalogue The Arts of Hon'ami Koetsu: Japanese Renaissance Master, 196 pages, two 8-page gatefolds, 187 illustrations (142 color), 10" x 11 1/2 "
Hardcover ISBN 0-87633-138-x with Dustjacket
Read about history of Hon-ami Koetsu HERE

THE ART OF JAPANESE PRINTS by Richard Illing, 1st edition 2nd printing 1983, $30.00.
In this text, the author surveys the whole range of Japanese prints from their beginnings in the seventeenth century to the present day. Against a background of the social and political history of Japan, he explains how they developed from book illustrations, principally through the genius of Moronobu, and how the technical possibilities of woodblock printing were advanced through the work of Masanobu and Harunobu, who prepared the way for the astonishing flowering of the art in the late eighteenth century, when such artists as Kiyonaga, Utamaro, and Eishi produced designs of unparalleled beauty and elegance. In excellant condition, 176 pages, 9 1/4" x 11 1/4" hardcover w/ dustjacket

THE ART OF SHIBATA ZESHIN, $80.00.
The Mr. and Mrs. James E. O'Brien Collection at the Honolulu Academy of Arts. This catalog is devoted to the work of an exceptional artist and reflects the discriminating taste of two collectors who pursued a passion both instinctive and cultivated. The O'Brien Collection reveals Shibata Zeshin's many facets in more than one hundred paintings, lacquer objects, tea ceramics and woodblock prints which compose one of the most significant assemblages of art in the West. . In excellant condition, 195 pages, 9" x 12 1/4" hardcover w/ dustjacket

ART TREASURES FROM JAPAN, $40.00.
An exhibition catalog consisting of 128 masterpieces of Japanese art consisting of painting, sculpture, applied art, and calligraphy. This exhibition is unique in including, at the special request of the participating museums, as many as sixty representative examples of applied art, such as metal and lacquer ware, ceramics, and textiles. In view of the fragility of age-old Japanese art treasures and other insuperable difficulties, this exhibition was most representative, both in quality and quantity, and is worthy of fulfilling its mission in introducing to the American and Canadian public the development and flowering of Japanese art. In excellant condition, 196 pages, 8 1/4" x 10 3/4" softcover w/ no dustjacket

THE CERAMIC ART OF JAPAN A Handbook for Collectors by Hugo Munsterberg, 1st edition 2nd printing 1969, $30.00.
In the present book an attempt has been made to bring our knowledge up to date and to include such subjects as prehistoric wares, folk pottery, and the wares of present-day potters. In excellant condition, 272 pages, 8 1/4 x 8 3/4" hardcover w/ no dustjacket

CHINESE COLOR PRINTS, from the Manual of the 'Mustard Seed Garden', First Edition 1953, $100.00.
Sixteen facsimiles in the size of the originals. About fifty years after the first parts of the Ten Bamboo Hall, and not till after the beginning of the Ch'ing Dynasty (1644-1911), the second great work of Chinese Color-printing, the Painting Manual of the Mustard Seed Garden (see below), was produced. This work is the subject of the present study. In good condition, 12 3/4" x 11" with slipcase

EXQUISITE PURSUITS by Yoko Woodson & Richard L. Mellott, 1994, $24.00
Through the title essay and in succinct and informative shorter essays, Asian Art Museum curator Yoko Woodson presents each work in the Harry G. C. Packard collection in its historical, cultural, and aesthetic contexts. These interesting and informative essays are accompanied by Kazuhiro Tsuruta's color photographs of each object and are augmented by a selection of enlarged details and supplemental illustrations for comparison. In "like new" condition, 132 pages, 9" x 12" softcover w/ no dustjacket

FOUR THOUSAND YEARS OF CHINA's ART by Dagny Carter 1951, $30.00.
The material in this volume has been considerably expanded beyond that of its predecessor on the subject of Chinese art, to include a large number of new illustrations as well as the results of recent extensive discoveries and research. It is designed for those individuals who desire a sound knowledge of Chinese art but lack the time and the facilities to go to the vast and complex sources for their study. Every cultural, religious, economic, and political movement, whether from within or without, sooner or later became apparent in China's artistic expression. In excellant condition, 358 pages, 7" x 9 1/2" hardcover w/ no dustjacket

THE FLOATING WORLD by James A. Michener, 1st edition 4th printing 1954, $65.00.
This book is a lively and authoritative account of the great age - approximately 1660 to 1860 - of Japanese prints and of the artists who created them. James Michener shows how the Japanese print-makers, cut off from revivifying contacts with the art of the rest of the world and hampered by their own governmental restrictions, were able to keep their art vital for two centuries only because there were enough vigorous and determined men with original minds to keep it going. Anyone who is interested in the arts in general, or in the relationships between social history and individual talent, can read this book with profit and delight. In good condition, 404 pages, 6 1/2" x 9 1/2" hardcover w/ dustjacket

THE GREAT JAPAN EXHIBITION Art of the Edo Period 1600-1868 by The Japan Foundation & Royal Academy of Arts, 1st edition 1981, $45.00.
This is the catalog of the major exhibition held at the Royal Academy of Arts in 1981-1982 covering the decorative and fine arts of the age of the Tokugawa shoguns (from 1615 until the restoration in 1868), the Edo period. The catalog illustrates all the items in the exhibition, using over 120 color reproductions. They include paintings, prints, books, lacquered objects, ceramics, metalwork, armour, sculpture, textiles and some items from the short but brilliant Momoyama period which preceded the Edo and bequeathed so much to its tradition. There are introductory essays on the historical, political and artistic background of the period as well as a glossary and a comprehensive bibliography. In excellant condition, 365 pages, 8 3/4" x 11 1/4" hardcover w/ excellant dustjacket

THE HERITAGE OF JAPANESE ART by Masao Ishizawa, Teizo Suganuma, Ichimatsu Tanaka, Chisaburo Yamada, Yuzo Yamane, Yoshiho Yonezawa, and Itsuji Yoshikawa, 1st edition 1982, $70.00.
This text fills the need for a book of impeccable scholarship that is also easily approached, a book that is both comprehensive and lavishly illustrated. The text of the Heritage of Japanese Art is an abridged version of a long-out-of-print classic prepared by leading scholars of Japanese art history. The media covered include painting, sculpture, textiles, ceramics, woodblock prints (ukiyo-e), lacquer-ware, and metalwork. In excellant condition, 208 pages, 9 3/4" x 13 1/8" hardcover w/ dustjacket

HIROSHIGE IN TOKYO The Floating World of Edo by Julian Bicknell, 1994, $60.00.
The author explores Hiroshige's life and work against the rich background of Edo culture. He examines the technical and artistic foundations of woodblock printing and Hiroshige's unique contribution to the tradition of ukiyo-e. Detailed commentaries on the many masterpieces from Hiroshige's most important series of prints. Identifies the locations and the symbolic significance of the imagery as Hiroshige's audience would have understood them: in terms of myth, history, poetry, and the interlacing of memory and experience that creates the genius loci-the spirit of place. In excellant condition, 228 pages, 8 3/4" x 11 1/4" hardcover with dustjacket

THE IDEALS OF THE EAST with Special Reference to the Art of Japan by Kakuzo Okakura, 1970, $50.00.
This is a short but very concise introduction to Asian art by the author of 'The Book of Tea'. Written from a Japanese perspective, and focusing on Japanese art, one of the major themes is the relationship between spirituality, particularly Buddhism, and the evolution of Asian art. In excellant condition, 244 pages, 5" x 7 3/8" hardcover with slipcase in excellant condition

IMAGES FROM THE FLOATING WORLD by Richard Lane, 1st edition Reprinted 1978, $60.00.
Written by one of the foremost experts on Japanese prints, Images From The Floating World is an extensive history of the development of ukiyo-e in its sociological context and of the lives of its masters, with particular emphasis on the innovation in style and techniques that each one contributed. Not limitedstrictly to the major artists, the work also takes into account the followers and schools, giving a comprehensive view of one of the most important epochs in Japanese art, illustrated by over 900 drawings in color and black and white. Also included is a "Dictionary of Ukiyo-e," containing cross-referenced entries for artists, schools, techniques, historical periods, etc. In very good condition, 364 pages, 9 3/4" x 11 1/4" hardcover w/ dustjacket

THE INRO HANDBOOK by Raymond Bushell, 1st edition 3rd printing 2002 $70.00.
For collectors who have discovered the delights of such miniature Japanese art forms as the inro and the netsuke, this authoritative and enlightening book offers a wealth of valuable information. In addition to illustrating in color and discussing in detail 108 distinguished inro and their accompanying netsuke, as well as 18 related miniature objects, it presents highly informative essays on the making of inro, on pearl-shell inlays, and on the materials and techniques of lacquer art, the last of these with 62 color photos. It also furnishes an extensive list of lacquer artists' signatures with 386 photos. As NEW (read once), 264 pages, 7 3/4" x 10 1/2" hardcover with dustjacket

INRO and other miniature forms of JAPANESE LACQUER ART by Melvin and Betty Jahss, 1st edition, $120.00.
The book is designed both for the novice in Japanese lacquer art and for the advanced collector who specializes in such delightful forms of that art as the inro and the netsuke. For readers who desire a general acquaintance with the subject, there are absorbing chapters on the history of Japanese lacquer, on miniature lacquer forms, and on the subject matter of lacquer art. For the collector, there is not only highly technical information on lacquer manufacture and techniques but also a comprehensive chapter on the netsuke. Three other features of the book are: the biographical listing of more than 900 miniature-lacquer artists, the genealogies of the outstanding lacquer schools, and the reproductions of 59 signatures of representative artists.
The book is generously supplied with 256 illustrations, of which 76 are in color. All important miniature lacquer forms are represented.In addition, there is a well-selected and useful bibliography. 488 pages, 8 3/4" x 11" hardcover w/ dustjacket and sleeve. See more HERE

JAPANESE ART by Raymond Johnes, 1967 $40.00.
The freshness and vivacity of Japanese art is what this volume will succeed in conveying to the reader. The 48 color reproductions, touching on all the media in which the Japanese have excelled - sculpture, painting, metalwork, lacquer, textiles, ceramics and color prints - have been made from newly taken photographs. The most beautiful as well as the most representative objects have been chosen, with special emphasis on the superb and unique pieces which are to be found in the temples and museums of Japan, and which are indispensable to an appreciation of Japanese art. In excellant condition, 88 pages, 9 1/2" x 10 3/4" hardcover with dustjacket

JAPANESE ART by Sadakichi Hartmann, fourth impression 1907, $45.00.
The purpose of this book being written is for those persons who would like to become more intimately acquainted with Japanese Art, but have been deterred from doing so by the want of a book which would accomplish this, without obliging them to turn specialists. The authors aim was to show what the leading schools and their foremost exponents have actually accomplished and to give the layman an opportunity to come in touch with the variety and grace of Japanese pictorialism. In excellant condition, 288 pages, 5 1/2" x 7 3/4" hardcover with no dustjacket

JAPANESE ART & HANDICRAFT by Henri L. Joly & Kumasaku Tomita, 1st edition 2nd printing 1976, $300.00.
Affectionately known by everyone connected with Japanese art as the "RED CROSS" Catalogue, this was an astonishing book to appear originally in 1915. The exhibition that gave rise to it was both imaginative and purposeful, and deserved a catalogue that was more than a simple list of exhibits. It follows that the illustrations and entries to the various sections of the catalogue vary in interest and importance today. The prints include some specimens that are acknowledged masterpieces; several of the netsuke and inro have changed hands in the auction rooms at prices their original owners' would have derided as unbelievable: but above all, the "RED CROSS" is outstanding for its presentation of a selection of magnificent sword-furniture, especially tsuba and fushi-kashira, which makes the volume indispensable to any serious collector in that field. Joly, in his preface to Part II of the catalogue, which is wholly devoted to Metalwork, brought, almost for the first time in our literature, some kind of scientific order to the classification of tsuba and other sword-furniture, and perfected a model and a vocabulary for cataloguing that has been widely adopted by most of his successors. In excellant condition, 215 pages, 10 1/4" x 12 1/2" hardcover w/ dustjacket and sleeve. See more HERE

JAPANESE NO PLAYS by Zemmaro Toki, 1st edition 1954, $30.00.
No (Noh) is a form of ancient Japanese stage art characterized by the use of masks and by dance and song. This six-hundred-year-old art has changed very little since its inception and, to understand either its appeal or its highly stylized conventions, the Western observer today needs a guide.
Such a guide is this profusely illustrated book, and one which should make the viewing and the understanding of this ancient art at once more profitable and more pleasurable. The text discusses the historical background and present characteristics of no, including the stage, costumes, masks and the styles of production. 204 pages, in very good condition, 5" x 7 1/2" hardcover with fair dustcover

JAPANESE PAINTINGS, first edition 2003, $60.00.
This volume is the first comprehensive look at the Ashmolean Museum's significant Japanese painting collection, featuring works that range in date from the seventeenth to the twentieth centuries, many of which are illustrated in color. A full sixty of the finest paintings are discussed in detail individually, divided into sections based on the major schools of painting active in Japan from the Edo period (1615-1868) to the modern era. Throughout the discussion, the book highlights the work of artists outside the traditional cultural centers of Edo and Kyoto by including artworks by Nagasaki and Osaka-based artists whose paintings will be less familiar to a Western audience. In addition, the volume focuses on painting formats that reached their peak of expression during this era such as painted albums and fan paintings. This catalog complements the exhibition on view from October 2003 to January 2004. In 'like new' condition, 254 pages, 9 3/4" x 11 1/4" hardcover w/ dustjacket

JAPANESE PRINTS, $50.00.
This volume reproduces 139 Japanese woodblock color prints by 43 famous masters of Ukiyo-e, the popular art of the 17th to the 19th century. The originals are in the Riccar Art Museum in Tokyo. The introductory essay, "Ukiyo-e Origins and History", by the curator of the museum, Mitsunobu Sato, familiarizes the reader with the history of this art form. This is followed by the chapter which examines the technique, content and style of Japanese prints and their influence on European art at the turn of the century. The major section of the book consists of the 139 reproductions, grouped by artist, each accompanied by a detailed, sensitive commentary. The dominant theme is woman's beauty, the grace of her posture and attitudes, and the decorative aesthetics of her flowing garments. The ten-page appendix includes a glossary of technical terms and biographies of all 43 artists. In 'like new' condition, 200 pages, 9 3/4" x 12" hardcover w/ dustjacket

JAPANESE WOODCUTS by Basil Gray, 1st edition, $30.00.
Japanese woodcuts appeal very strongly to our taste and, ever since they were discovered, have had a great influence on modern art. The 20 reproductions this book presents include examples of the earliest hand-colored prints as well as works by the great masters of later times, Utamaro, Sharaku, Hokusai, Hiroshige and others. The originals selected by the author, one of the foremost authorities on the subject, come from public as well as private collections and several of them have never been reproduced before. In good condition, 5" x 7 3/4" hardcover with dustcover

KABUKI by Yasuji Toita & Chiaki Yoshida, 1986 $20.00.
No. 11 of Hoikusha's Color Books Series. In this book about 'theatre art' (Kabuki), the attempt has been made to explain the basic conventions of Kabuki with the aid of illustrative photographs from the performances of the great traditional actors. In excellant condition, 124 pages, 4 1/8" x 5 7/8" softcover

KIMONO by Liza Dalby, 1st edition 1993, $45.00.
Beautifully written and lavishly illustrated, the author traces the history of kimono - its uses, aesthetics, and social meanings - to explore Japanese culture. An engaging mix of fashion history and social anthropology, this lively book demonstrates in a new way how clothing fashions can illuminate our understanding of culture. In 'like new' condition, 384 pages, 8 1/2" x 8 1/2" hardcover with dustjacket

KODANSHA LIBRARY OF JAPANESE ART, 1st editions 1955 to 19??, $20.00 each.
This distinguished series of art books, planned to cover all major phases of Japanese art, was begun in 1955 by Kodansha, one of Japan's largest and oldest publishing houses. Because of the outstanding texts, and beautiful plates, the series proved an instantaneous success in art-coscious Japan. To make the meaningful, authoritative texts and captions, as well as the plates, available to Western readers, the Charles E. Tuttle Company, by arrangement with Kodansha, issued English-language editions, each by an outstanding authority in the field, each containing the same profusion of fine plates in full color and two-tone process. All in 'good' condition, 4 1/2" x 6 3/4" softcover. See all descriptions HERE

THE MAKING of a JAPANESE PRINT Harunobu's "heron maid" by Reiko Chiba, 1st edition 2nd printing 1960, $30.00.
This unique and beautiful book presents the steps of making a Japanese print. Woodblock printing is at the same time a very simple and a very complicated art. It is simple by modern standards because no machinery, not even a press, is used. The finished print in this book and the pages which so graphically present its development in color are entirely the result of hand work. The tools are primitive and few. They have been used for hundreds of years: a sharp knife, chisels, a mallet, and a printing pad called a baren to apply pressure to the back of the paper as it lies on the inked block. 13 accordian-style pages, in good condition with mended cover attachment. 3 3/4" x 5 3/4" cloth/hardcover with paper title card attached.

MASTERPIECES OF THE JAPANESE COLOR WOODCUT, $00.00.
This book takes as its premise that a strong sense of urban and regional identity is one of the distinguishing features of Edo-period culture. It surveys the activities of selected artists in their physical and socio-economic environment to bring into relief the cultural dynamics within and among four major cities: Kyoto, Edo, Osaka, and Nagasaki. Since the movement of artists between cities, and between city and country, played such an important role in artistic developments, it also touches on these reciprocal and mutually reinforcing relationships. In excellant condition, 176 pages, 6 1/2" x 9 1/4" softcover w/ no dustjacket

MASTER PRINTS OF JAPAN Ukiyo-E Hanga by Harold P. Stern, 1969?, $42.00.
Between the covers of this book a unique and exquisite art form - "the Japanese print" - runs its course, from early black-and-white examples made at the beginning of the 17th century, to the full-colored works of the mid 19th century, when the form degenerates into mannerism and imitation of Western art. The book breaks off at this point, after having provided us with extraordinarily beautiful reproductions of ukiyo-e hanga masterpieces. In very good condition, 324 pages, 8 3/4" x 11 1/4" softcover w/ no dustjacket

MOMOYAMA Japanese Art in the Age of Grandeur by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1st edition 1975, $40.00.
Exhibition catalog of the greatest examples of Momoyama art seen outside of Japan. It is a rare privilege to find gathered here works from twenty-two temples, eight shrines, eight museums, three libraries, one university collection, and nineteen private collections. More than a third of these works have been designated by the Japanese government as National Treasures, Important Cultural Properties, or Important Art Objects. In very good condition, 136 pages, 8 1/2" x 10 1/2" softcover w/ no dustjacket

THE MUSTARD SEED GARDEN, Manual of Painting, 2nd printing 1978, $45.00.
First written by Chieh Tzu Yuan Hua Chuan, the present book consists of the original second volume, the Manual of Painting, 1887-1888 Shanghai edition, with the text translated from the Chinese and edited by Mai-Mai Sze. The present translation contains the full text and all the illustrated pages of instructions. It excludes the minor prefatory remarks and comments, and all of the pages, some four hundred, of additional examples. The main prefaces are given fully, including a preface written for the 1887-88 edition, which, although not essential to the contents of the Manual, supplies a brief summary of the records of Chinese painting among which the Chieh Tzu Yuan has its place. It may be observed that, like everything else written by Chinese painters and critics on the subject of painting, virtually the entire contents of the Manual are aimed at developing the painter's spiritual resources (ch'i) in order to express the Spirit (Ch'i), the Breath of the Tao. In excellant condition, 624 pages, 8 1/2" x 8 3/8" softcover w/ no dustjacket

THE NAMBAN ART OF JAPAN by Yoshitomo Okamoto, 1st English Edition, 1972 $30.00.
The present book introduces the Namban art of Japan through a wealth of illustrations - 36 in full color and 106 in black and white - and an authoritative text that explores its historical background and appraises its aesthetic values. The book is the first in English to deal so informatively with the subject, and for many readers it will no doubt reveal a new facet of Japanese art. Yoshitomo Okamoto is one of few leading authorities on the Namban art of Japan. In very good condition, ex-library book. 158 pages, 7 1/4" x 9 1/2" hardcover with dustjacket

NETSUKE by F. M. JONAS, 12th printing 1986, $00.00.
This book takes as its premise that a strong sense of urban and regional identity is one of the distinguishing features of Edo-period culture. It surveys the activities of selected artists in their physical and socio-economic environment to bring into relief the cultural dynamics within and among four major cities: Kyoto, Edo, Osaka, and Nagasaki. Since the movement of artists between cities, and between city and country, played such an important role in artistic developments, it also touches on these reciprocal and mutually reinforcing relationships. In excellant condition, 176 pages, 6 1/2" x 9 1/4" softcover w/ no dustjacket

NIHON no BIJUTSU No. 24 KINDAI BIJUTSU no ??, $40.00.
Vintage Japanese book of Fine arts of Japan. No.24. In excellant condition, 160 pages, 7 1/4" x 9 1/4" hardcover w/ slipcase

UKIYO-E 250 Years of Japanese Art by Roni Neuer, Herbert Libertson and Susugu Yoshida, 1st edition 1979, $70.00.
In this book, lavishly illustrated with 377 color plates, the authors take us through the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries, tracing the development of the unparalleled technical and artistic achievement of ukiyo-e. A biographical background for the main exponents of the ukiyo-e genre introduces each new section of prints. In excellant condition, 390 pages, 9 3/4" x 12 3/8" oversize hardcover with dustjacket

UKIYO-E Prints and Paintings The Primitive Period 1680-1745 by The Art Institute of Chicago, 1971, $60.00.
This exhibition is first and foremost a fitting tribute to the late Margaret O. Gentles. This exhibition also has several other firsts: it is the first exhibition since the notable show in Paris in 1909 to deal exclusively with the Primitives; it is the first ukiyo-e exhibition in the United States to show both paintings and prints; and finally, it is the first ukiyo-e exhibition in this country to borrow extensively from Japan.. In excellant condition, 131 pages, 8 1/2" x 11 1/4" softcover w/ no dustjacket

THE WOMEN OF THE PLEASURE QUARTER, Japanese Paintings and Prints of the Floating World 1st edition, 1995 $90.00.
This glorious volume is the first comprehensive study of the women of the pleasure quarters and entertainment districts of Japan of the seventeenth through nineteenth centuries. It examines the cultural and metaphorical meanings of courtesans and geisha and their appearance in art and Kabuki theater. These women were at the nexus of social relations, part of public culture, organized into institutions and transformed into emblems of femininity, personifications of the romantic ideal. This volume reproduces paintings and woodblock prints by forty-six artists, virtually all the leading masters of the genre, including Choshun, Hiroshige, Hokusai, and Utamaro. Essays by several eminent scholars explore every aspect of this subject. In excellant condition, 195 pages, 9 1/4" x 12 1/4" hardcover w/ dustjacket