The Akasaka Collection Makes an Imprint at the Center

The Akasaka Collection, Gallery #14, is definitely making an imprint on The Center. This gallery, located on the left side of the lobby, displays an enchanting collection of Japanese woodblock prints known as ukiyo-e from the 19th and 20th centuries. Akira Ogawa, the gallery’s owner, comes to The Center from Tokyo, where he owned and operated a gallery for 9 years. Akira explains that ukiyo-e started to become popular in the 17th and 18th centuries. Discovered by the west in the mid nineteenth century by collectors and connoisseurs, the Japanese woodblock print achieved a status equal to other forms of traditional Japanese art. Among the most famous masters of this medium are Hokusai, Hiroshige and Kuniyoshi.

The art of ukiyo-e involves cutting designs into a wood block with a variety of razor-sharp tools; each designed to achieve a different effect or stroke on the wood. Ink is rolled on the block and the design is printed on rice paper.

Subject matter varies from kabuki scenes, landscapes and erotica to Samurai portraits. The Akasaka Collection includes more than 1000 prints with prices ranging from $100 to $5000.

Featured in the photo is ”Strolling”: the appearance of an upper class wife of the Meiji era. This famous and important print by Yoshitoshi epitomizes the incongruities of the collision between traditional and modernizing Japan. In the late 1880’s affluent women began to incorporate western fashion into their everyday style. The reaction to this western trend was fierce. Conservatives denounced this trend as barbaric. However, Yoshitoshi’s work was extraordinarily popular and this is one of his most beloved designs.

Gallery #:14

Phone: 212.223.3892

Fax:

Email: aogawa@nyc.rr.com

Web Site: