IbasenThe Ukiyo-e Museum, located on the first floor of the building, features a seasonal changing of exhibits four times a year.
IbasenUkiyo-e Prints, Inc. originally operated as a publisher. A publisher is what we would call a publishing producer today. Ukiyo-e is engraved on woodblocks and then printed, so we asked artists such as Kuniyoshi and Hiroshige to design the prints,round fanAs the pictures were being printed, I could also print Ukiyo-e, so my main business wasround fanI became a publisher of Ukiyo-e as well, although my main business is a shop.
Many of our Ukiyo-e are in the collections of prominent museums in Japan and abroad.
British Museum, Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Van Gogh Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum, Ota Memorial Museum, and many others.
The Spider Monster in the Mansion of Minamoto no Yorimitsu, by Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797-1861). Japan, 1843.
Allusion to the character Sanbaso, by Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797-1861). Woodblock print.
An Actor in the Role of Chienai, central sheet of a triptych, by Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797 - 1861), Edo, 1847-1850.
Princess Izutsu, from the series Legends of Wise and Chaste Women, by Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797 - 1861), Edo, c. 1842
Utagawa Kuniyoshi Exhibition at the Ōta Memorial Museum of Art, 2021, September 4th-October 24th
Some Ukiyo-e works are introduced here. We can see the relationship between the publishers and Ukiyo-e artists of the time, and the rebellious spirit of the Edo period. Ukiyo-e is humorous, chic, and also rebellious spirit of the Edo people. We would like to pass on the good old things to the present age.
（Minamoto Mitsuko Yorimitsu Koukan Tsuchigumo Saku Yokai no Zu)
1843, large-format nishiki-e (brocade), 3 prints in sequence
Minamoto no Yorimitsu, who is said to have vanquished the drinking spiders on Mount Oe, is being bewildered by the monsters of the ground spiders. There are other paintings of the extermination of demons on Mt. The pattern of Yorimitsu's wobbly kimono is a sheath-shaped pattern, which means that the 12th shogun, Iekei Tokugawa, was the one in charge of the Tokugawa shogunate. The common people of Edo, who were fed up with Mizuno's prohibition policy, began to buy these ukiyo-e prints in droves. And the publisherIbasenThe publishers were so enthusiastic about the work that the prints were sold to the general public. The enthusiasm of the people was so great thatIbasenwas not to blame for the quick arrangement of retrieving the painting and scraping the woodblocks. Well, well, well... The publisherIbasenKuniyoshi and the Utagawa school, to which Kuniyoshi belonged, were both government contractors, so to speak, serving the Edo Shogunate. The Utagawa school, to which Kuniyoshi belonged, was also under the government service, so to speak, and its rights were never revoked.
(Nitakabegurakabe no mudagaki), ca. 1847 (Koka 4)
Since the Tempo Reforms, there had been an injunction against the publication of ukiyoe prints of actors. In an attempt to get them published, artists and publishers devised new ways of publishing them. The artists and publishers tried to get their works published, but the people said, "This is not Ukiyo-e, it is a graffiti. It is a graffiti. People at that time could see Utaemon, Koshiro, and Umeko. The cat in the middle is a two-tailed cat. They are dancing happily. This kind of playful spirit is what makes us feel luxurious. This one is called a nugie (釘絵), which refers to a picture written in Kuniyoshi's hand as a scribble scratched with a nail. There are also other portraits of actors, such as "Shiroumeno Shoukabe no Mudadaki" ("White Face Laughing Wall with a Wasteland"). The signatures and publisher's signatures, such as "Kuniyoshi Egaku" and "Kuniyoshi Egaku," as well as characters such as "Minna Waratte iru yawada" and "Naru aika harauzu," are also included in this collection.IbasenThe publisher's seal is also written in the same nail-painting style. It is the same kind of painstaking work that can be seen in today's comic books.
On January 31, 2012, the Chuo City Machikado Exhibition Hall was certified as a Chuo City Machikado Exhibition Hall, which introduces various cultural resources handed down in Chuo City, which boasts 400 years of history and tradition since the founding of Edo (present-day Tokyo).
Our Location
4-1 Nihonbashi Kobunacho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 103-0024, Japan
Phone: 03-3664-9261
fax: 03-3664-9266
MAIL: info@ibasen.com
Business hours
Monday - Saturday: 10:00 - 18:00
Closed: Sunday, National holidays, Year-end and New Year holidays
IbasenThe family crest of and closedfolding fanThe wrapping paper is our original wrapping paper decorated with the family crest in the shape of a pattern. If you require gift wrapping, please choose from blue or pink.
Craftsmanship Around Japanfolding fanWe are working together with craftsmen who are involved in the production of uchiwa fans in various parts of Japan to produce and sell our original products and other items. We are committed to helping pass on the traditional Japanese craft culture to future generations.
