The Japanese Woodblock Print is an art form, which highlights flowing, curved outlines, simplistic forms as well as the detailing of flat areas containing color.  This form of art has not only existed for a long time in Asian history, but it has also deeply impacted artists in both Europe and North America throughout the 19^th century. 

Woodblock printing was first used in Japan in the 8th century to print religious texts. Buddhists traveling from China brought these texts, as well as the printing method itself, to Japan. 

These first prints were made in a single color using only Sumi ink. The world would have to wait nearly 900 years for the first colored prints to appear. Early color prints were made using a single block and black ink. The colors were hand painted by workers in the print shops. It was only when the popularity of these prints exceeded the production capacity of the workshops that the true woodblock print evolved.  Click here to read more.

Netsuke (pronounced “net-ski” or “net-skeh”) are tiny sculptures that originated in Japan as an accessory to traditional Japanese clothing. They have since evolved over a time period of three hundred years into works of art that are both collected and revered by art aficionados across the globe. 

Originally, Netsuke served both functional and aesthetic purposes. The Japanese kimono did not have pockets, so women would hold small objects in their sleeves, and men would wear a silk cord on their obi, or sash. From the cord, they would hang items such as tobacco pouches and coin purses. These items were known as sagemono. To stop the silk cord from slipping under the weight of their sagemono, they would attach a small toggle to the cord. These toggles were known as netsuke, which literally means, “root for fastening”. Click here to read more.

The Chinese elevated the common fan to an art form.  We know that leaves and bird feathers were used as early fans but China gets credit for being the first place where fans were manufactured.  King Wu of the Zhou Dynasty (11^th century B.C.) is credited as the inventor of the Chinese fan.  We believe that the idea for the hand-held Chinese fan came from the umbrellas that were fixed to the top of carriages of the Shang dynasty period (1600 - 1100 B.C.).  The oldest Chinese hand-held fan, which was found in the Hubei province in 1982 dates back about 2,300 year ago to the Warring States period. 

Early fans were made of bamboo "spokes" arranged in a half circle with silk wrapped around them.  These fans did not fold up, as we know them today.  Fans were primarily reserved for the member of the royal court and it was not until the Han dynasty (206 B.C. - 220 A.D.) that fans became widely available among the general population.  Fans became so wildly popular that in the Jin dynasty (317 - 420 A.D.) the emperor forbade them to be made out of silk since so many fans were being made that silk production could not keep up!  Chinese fans were made in many different forms.  For example, a fan's base could be square or round, or shaped like a familiar object, for example a duck's beak or fish tail. Click here to read more.