History of Print and Printmakers

Japanese Prints, by Ellis Tinios (The British Museum Press)

A very readable introduction to the world of ukiyo-e prints along with the artists, craftsmen and merchants who made their existence possible. The illustrations alone would be reason enough to pick up this book; along with well-known prints it shows unusual material, notably in the chapter on the Meiji era. One thing it does very well is put ukiyo-e into their cultural context, as images produced for and purchased by the common people. It goes a long way into explaining the idiosyncracies of actor prints and the vagaries of censorship under the shogunate. The book would have benefitted from more rigorous editing: there are redundancies, almost as if the various chapters had originally been standalone. Nevertheless, it is highly recommended as a lively read and a good introduction to traditional Japanese culture as well as Japanese prints.