Kokufu Bonsai Ten Cho The 3rd 1935 by Kobayashi Norio

 Kokufu Bonsai Ten Cho The 3rd

This is a rare exhibition catalogue of Kokufu Bonsai Ten,the most famous Bonsai Exhibition in the world.

Unfortunately,the number of early Kokufu Bonsai Ten catalogues is decreasing every year even in Japan.

As you might know,early Kokufu Bonsai Ten catalogues were published not by Nippon Bonsai Association,

but by Kobayashi Norio,who is called The Father of Kokufu Bonsai Ten.They were not sold in stores at that time.

I have just obtained this one from a next-door neighbor of Kobayashi Norio.

Mr.Kobayashi lived in Fuchu city more than 50 years ago.

The Intoroduction of Guns in Japanese History - From Tanegashima to the Boshin War

 

Special Exhibition

The Intoroduction of Guns in Japanese History - From Tanegashima to the Boshin War

The history of guns in Pre-Modern Japan starts from their arrival in 1543 and finishes at the end of Boshin War in 1868. Over the course of about three centuries, this foreign weapon became firmly rooted throughout Japan, having great influence in various fields, including society, military, and technology.

In this special exhibition, we present the facts concerning the arrival of guns, the circumstances surrounding traveling gunsmiths responsible for the spread of guns throughout the country, and the process of development of guns through their use in battles. 

We also describe the community of gunsmiths who were engaged in manufacturing guns and their techniques. Finally, the exhibition shows how Japan accepted foreign gun culture during the end of the Edo period and the beginning of the Meiji-era, where Western military technology had been introduced.

Takehisa Udagawa Representative of the Exhibition Project Committee

Price $199+shipping If you have any questions,please feel free to email us.austral@trade4.gmobb.jp

Minamoto Kiyomaro Exhibition Minamoto no Kiyomaro Ten

We will hold a special exhibition commemorating the 200th anniversary of the birth of Kiyomaro Gen (1813-55), a swordsmith who had outstanding talent at the end of the Edo period and made his talent bloom. "Kiyomaro was born as the second son of a priest in Akaiwamura, Komoro Domain, Shinshu, and became the son of the Nagaoka family, the owner of the neighboring village. the eight-year-old maiden work, as early as I can grasp strength to foresee the extraordinary talent.

o'clock in the Edo period, a wave of the opening of the country surging, SeiMaro was in response to the reactionary principle of Guoxue, bear in combat We have created a sword. Along with its sharpness, the dignified and clear ground iron has a lively blade pattern, which is one of the great attractions, and Kiyomaro is now the most popular swordsmith among new swords. 

In this exhibition, we will gather together the famous swords made during the 24 years from the 18-year-old virgin work to the death of himself at the age of 42, and look back on Kiyomaro's sword-making life. 

In conducting this exhibition, we discovered new materials on the factors behind Kiyomaru's visit to Hagi and new findings obtained by shooting the sword's ground iron with high resolution. Based on the results. We hope that you will see the statue of the genius swordsmith Kiyomaro again. We would like to thank all the organizations, owners, and all concerned for their special cooperation and exhibition in holding exhibition We would like to express our deepest gratitude to all the members of the Kiyomaro Exhibition Executive Committee for the 200th anniversary of their birth, and we would like to express our deepest gratitude to them., Nagaoka, 2013

Yoshihisano

Museum of Art

Shinano PrefectureMuseum Hagi Museum Nezu Museum

If you have any questions,please feel free to email us.austral@trade4.gmobb.jp

Price $199+shipping from Japan

A Living National Treasure Kitamura Takeshi regarded as one of Japan's leading textile artists

Title A Living National Treasure Kitamura Takeshi
Master of Contemporary Weaving
Publication year 2011

This is a rare exhibition catalogue of Kitamuar Takeshi,known as A Living National Treasure.

Foreword
We are delighted to mount this exhibition of the work of Kitamura Takeshi, who has created new horizons in weaving through his superb skills and contemporary sensibility.

Kitamura Takeshi was born in Kyoto in 1935 and began his career in weaving, in 1951, in Nishijin. That Kyoto district, where craftsmen transmit weaving techniques that have been a key part of the traditional culture of the city since it became the imperial capital twelve centuries ago, occupies a vitally important position in the history of Japanese weaving and dyeing as it has responded to changing tastes over the ages. Having trained in Nishijin, Kitamura was equipped with highly sophisticated weaving skills and a wealth of knowledge with which to begin his independent career.

In 1965, his abilities were attested to in the form of the prestigious Chairman of Japan Art Crafts Association Prize in 1965, which he received upon first entering work in the 2nd Traditional Art Crafts Exhibition of Japanese Textiles. In 1995, he was designated the holder of an important intangible cultural property, ra, or complex gauze weaving; in 2000, he was also designed the holder of another important intangible cultural property, tate-nishiki, or warp-faced brocade. Today Kitamura Takeshi is, without a doubt, regarded as one of Japan's leading textile artists.

What fascinates people about Kitamura's work, with its innovative, endlessly fresh revelations, is the quality that arises, despite his solid grounding in tradition, from his refusal to rest on conventional values, his exploration of the fundamentals of weaving, and his stance of addressing our own age, our day, with his demanding problematic and inspiring new propositions. His kawari-ori or fancy embody a perspective that addresses new themes through a combination of diverse weaves and materials. His ra or complex gauze uses a complicated twist structure (intertwined warp yarns, with weft yarns passed through the interstices) to create richly translucent fabric. Kitamura has gone beyond reviving this ancient technique, which had nearly died out after the middle ages, to weave a new type of ra, transparent figured complex gauze or "tomon-ra". In it, through bold new manipulations of the warp yarns, he constructs patterns and shading in ways never seen before. Similarly, in setting himself the task of mastering the weaving of tatenishiki or warp-faced brocade, another classic textile, Kitamura's goal was not mere replication. By integrating contemporary materials, techniques, colors, and motifs, he has elevated his fresh new patterns to an unparalleled level of elegance.

This exhibition presents about 130 works in which the artist's thinking in his search for the formative beauty born of necessity from the art of weaving is expressed in rich textures. We hope that you will enjoy this opportunity to experience the possibilities and the beauty of weaving brought about through the ultimate in weaving skills.

In conclusion, we would be remiss not to express our profound gratitude to the many collectors who have graciously lent their valued works for this exhibition, the many others whose cooperation has helped make it possible, and, above all, to Kitamura Takeshi himself for his unstinting assistance.
The Organizers

2016 Suzuki Kiitsu Exhibition Standard-bearer of the Edo Rimpa School Hoitsu's most prominent pupil

Title Suzuki Kiitsu Exhibition
Sub Title Standard-bearer of the Edo Rimpa School
Publication year 2016

This is a very rare exhibition catalogue of Suzuki Kiitsu,known as a a painter of the Edo Rimpa school and Hoitsu's most prominent pupil.More than 200 exceptional works are contained.All are shown in full color.Approx 7 pages and the list of plates are written in English.There are 340 pages in this catalogue.Relatively thick one.Recommended one!

The English foreword to this book says"
Suzuki Kiitsu (1796-1858) is a painter of the Edo Rimpa school, who was active in the late Edo period.
Rimpa was established in Kyoto by Hon'ami Koetsu and Tawaraya Sotatsu in the early Edo period and Ogata Korin, Ogata Kenzan, and others in the mid-Edo period.

In the late Edo period, Sakai Höitsu revived the Rimpa style in Edo. Adding new tastes and refinement,he created a new style called “Edo Rimpa.” Kiitsu was known as Hoitsu's most prominent pupil.

While inheriting the ornate tradition of Rimpa, Kiitsu's artistic style was characterized by vivid coloring, bold compositions, and opulent designs and was overflowing with a novelty that is still recognized to this day. He brought his versatililty into full play painting a variety of subjects including bird-and-flower paintings, landscape paintings, narrative paintings, genre paintings, Buddhist paintings, and seasonal festival paintings, and also working on hanging scrolls of painted mountings, fans, kites, battledores, and votive wooden tablets. Furthermore, Kiitsu trained his own son Suzuki Shuitsu and many other pupils, encouraging them to hand down the Rimpa style that continues to the present. Indeed, Kitsu played a spectacular role as a standard-bearer for Edo Rimpa.

The exhibition "SUZUKI KIITSU : Standard-bearer of the Edo Rimpa School”, held at Suntory Museum of Art, Himeji City Museum of Art, Hosomi Museum, and the Yomiuri Shimbun, brings together masterworks by Kiitsu on a scale unrivaled by earlier exhibitions both inside and outside Japan, offering visitors a rare opportunity to encounter the full range of his not-to-be-missed paintings.

We would like to express our heartfelt thanks to all the owners of the works for their understanding and agreement to exhibit their precious works and all others concerned for their cooperation in realizing this exhibition.

Tenshin Shoden Shinto Muso-ryu Jojutsu Matsui Kenji Shinto-ryu Kenjutsu

Title Shinto Muso-ryu Jojutsu
Author Matsui Kenji
Publication year 1994

This is a very rare and fully illustrated book on Shinto Muso-ryu Jojutsu.Recommended by Kageyama Jiro,the president of All Japan Kendo Federation.Hundreds of photos are contained so that even beginners can learn basic body movements easily.Old documents are contained at the end of this book.

In the forword to this book,Kageyama Jiro,the president of All Japan Kendo Federation,says"This book is a compilation of Shinto Muso-ryu Jojutsu and Shinto-ryu Kenjutsu.All Japan Kendo Federation's Jojotsu is based on Kendo,Iaido and Jodo.And All Japan Kendo Federation is based on Shinto Muso-ryu Jojutsu.They say that Shinto Muso-ryu Jojutsu is sophisticated old martial arts.There have not been good references of Shindo Muso-ryu Jojutsu.It is really meaningful to techniques of them are open to the public and explained in detail."

Morihiro Wada Ceramics Sobo in Soho First Major Exhibition held in New York

Title Morihiro Wada Ceramics Sobo in Soho
Publication year 1990

This is a rare exhibition catalogue of Morihiro Wada.
This is a first major exhibit held in New York.So it is written both in English and in Japanese.Unlike the catalogues I have bought before,this is a hardcover and a bit larger.I am not sure why.This is the last one I have now.

37 exceptional items are contained.All are shown in full color.Approx 50 pages.

I am very happy to welcome the ceramic art exhibit of Morihiro Wada to New York
Mr. Wada has distinguished himself over the past twenty years as one of Japan's premier ceramicists. His works have been exhibited in Japan and around the world, receiving high acclaim everywhere. Mr. Wada's first major exhibit in New York will give Americans an opportunity to
experience the rare beauty of this traditional Japanese craft.

Through the international language of art, Mr. Wada's exhibit will, I am sure, do much to enhance mutual understanding between the peoples of
Japan and the United States.

All my best wishes for the success of this auspicious event.
May, 1990
Masamichi Hanabusa
Ambassador
Consul General of Japan in New York