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Library of Congress Makes Over 2,500 Japanese Woodblock Prints Digitally Accessible

Japanese Woodblock Prints Digitized Japanese Art Library of Congress

“Senju great bridge” by Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1856)

As a part of the Library of Congress‘ latest and largest digitization project, the esteemed institution has published over 2,500 reproductions of Japanese woodblock prints. Available for free on the Library of Congress' website, each beautiful work of Japanese art can be accessed, viewed, and downloaded with the click of a mouse.

Like all of the institution's digital reproductions, this series has been curated into a collection based on culture and chronology. Fine Prints: Japanese, Pre-1915 includes nearly 2,700 Japanese woodblock prints and traditional drawings produced between the 17th and 20th centuries. This rich selection of Japanese art highlights the country's predominant print traditions—Ukiyo-e (“Pictures of the floating world”) and Yokohama-e (“Pictures of Yokohama”)—and features masterworks from prolific printmakers, including Hiroshige, Hokusai, Kuniyoshi, Sadahide, and Yoshiiku.

While all 25 million pieces that compose the Library of Congress' recent digital release are historically and artistically significant, the works included in Fine Prints: Japanese, Pre-1915 are particularly significant. Until the middle of the 19th century, such works of art wouldn't leave Japan. According to the collection's description, this changed when “new trade agreements beginning in the 1850s resulted in an unprecedented flow of travelers and goods between Japan and the West,” ending 200 years of national seclusion. Now, thanks to the Library of Congress, these wonderful works of art will reach an even wider audience—no travel needed!

The Library of Congress has released over 2,500 reproductions of Japanese woodblock prints to the public. This collection of Japanese art is available for free on the institution's website.

Japanese Woodblock Prints Digitized Japanese Art Library of Congress

“Hara” by Andō Hiroshige (c. 1833-1836)

Japanese Woodblock Prints Digitized Japanese Art Library of Congress

“Cherry blossom viewing month” by Torii Kiyonaga (c. 1785-1789)

Japanese Woodblock Prints Digitized Japanese Art Library of Congress

“Teahouse at Koishikawa the morning after a snowfall” by Katsushika Hokusai (c. 1890-1940)

Japanese Woodblock Prints Digitized Japanese Art Library of Congress

“Mukōjima miyamoto musashi” by Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1852)

Japanese Woodblock Prints Digitized Japanese Art Library of Congress

“Pilgrims climbing” by Katsushika Hokusai (1834)

Japanese Woodblock Prints Digitized Japanese Art Library of Congress

“The courtier Minamoto no Muneyuki” by Katsushika Hokusai (c. 1835-1837)

Japanese Woodblock Prints Digitized Japanese Art Library of Congress

“Mouse, facing front, sitting on a mallet with red ribbon through a hole in the handle” by Katsushika Hokusai (c. 1830-1850)

Japanese Woodblock Prints Digitized Japanese Art Library of Congress

“Pressure from a heavy hand” by Kobayashi Kiyochika (1904)

Library of Congress: Website | Facebook | Instagram | Flickr
h/t: [Open Culture]

All images via Library of Congress.

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Kelly Richman-Abdou

Kelly Richman-Abdou is a Contributing Writer at My Modern Met. An art historian living in Paris, Kelly was born and raised in San Francisco and holds a BA in Art History from the University of San Francisco and an MA in Art and Museum Studies from Georgetown University. When she’s not writing, you can find Kelly wandering around Paris, whether she’s leading a tour (as a guide, she has been interviewed by BBC World News America and France 24) or simply taking a stroll with her husband and two tiny daughters.
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