Welcome, !
Contemporary Ukiyo-e Created
Using Traditional Woodcut Print Techniques
- From Japan to the World -
The Adachi Institute of Woodcut Prints carries on the tradition of Japan's woodcut print techniques
which gave birth to ukiyo-e in the 17th century.
We offer the world contemporary ukiyo-e created in collaboration with today's finest artists.
NEWS
Sales of Ayako Rokkaku's new woodcut prints "Untitled 2"
Ayako Rokkaku is an international contemporary artist well known for her unique hand-painting method. Her new woodcut print, "Untitled 2", will be displayed at Adachi's Tokyo showroom. This work is depicted in a "triptych" format commonly used for the ukiyo-e. It will be sold to customers selected by the lottery. Please review the details of the works and drawing.
Details of Ayako Rokkaku New Woodcut Print "Untitled 2" >>
Sales: to the selected customers by the lottery
Drawing schedule
Entry Period:
＜Tokyo Showroom (closed on Sundays, Mondays, and National Holidays)＞
March 9th, 2023 – April 1st, 2023
＜Adachi Online Site＞
March 31st, 2023 from noon – April 1st, 2023, 5:00 p.m. (Japan time)
Result:
Around April 6th,2023
*Entering a draw is limited to only one per customer (either at the showroom or online). Please note that customers who enter the showroom cannot enter online. In addition, you will be excluded from the draw if you enter more than once.
Special display of Ayako Rokkaku’s woodcut print
March 9th, 2023 – April 1st, 2023 more details >>
3/4/2023
Sales of Lee Ufan's new woodcut prints "Dialogue"
Lee Ufan is an artist who led one of the most important movements in post-war Japanese art, Mono-ha (the “School of Things”) and has gained worldwide acclaim for his works. Adachi has just completed his three woodcut prints, "Dialogue 1", "Dialogue 2" and "Dialogue 3" and they will be sold to customers selected by the lottery. Please review the details of the works and drawing.
Details of Lee Ufan New Woodcut Prints "Dialogue" >>
Sales: to the selected customers by the lottery
Drawing schedule
Entry Period:
＜Tokyo Showroom＞
From January 17th, 2023 to February 4th, 2023
＜Adachi Online Site＞
From 12 o'clock noon, February 3rd, 2023 to 12 o'clock noon, February 6th, 2023(Japan time)
Result:
Around February 10th,2023
*Entry is limited to one per work for each customer, and the possibility of winning is limited to one out of the three works. Please note that customers who enter multiple times will be excluded from the draw. The entry at the Adachi showroom in person is counted as one entry. Therefore no need to enter online if you entered at the showroom.
Special display of Lee Ufan’s three woodcut prints
January 17th, 2023 – February 4th, 2023 more details >>
1/13/2023
Artist x Adachi Institute
Artist
Ayako Rokkaku challenged ukiyo-e's format, "Sanmaitsuzuki"
Ayako Rokkaku is an international contemporary artist renowned for her unique hand-painting method. Her new woodcut print, "Untitled 2," was completed after the second collaboration work with The Adachi Institute of Woodcut Prints. This work was depicted in a "triptych" format, called "Sanmaitsuduki", commonly used for ukiyo-e. Three individual pieces were separately produced and displayed next to each to show a larger image, which is the same process as "Sanmaitsuduki" in the Edo period. The advanced techniques of the carver and the printer reproduced her unique soft yet powerful lines and pop and vivid colors. "Untitled 2" was completed as an absolute "Contemporary Ukiyo-e"
photo by Shin Inaba
Artist
World-renowned artist Lee Ufan
The long-awaited release of the "Dialogue" series in woodcut prints
Contemporary artist Lee Ufan's large-scale retrospective exhibition in 2022 is still fresh in people's mind. Leading one of the most important trends in postwar Japanese art, “Mono-ha” (the “School of Things”), he has earned international acclaim for his works and writings that explore the relationship between things and people. What he focused on when creating his new print works was the expression of gradations seen in ukiyo-e prints by Hokusai or Hiroshige. The deep traditional color shades were drawn out by the experience and philosophy of a brilliant artist. We hope you will appreciate the new development of the "Dialogue" series, which Mr. Lee himself describes as, "While being powerful and tense, it is a work that makes the most of the gentleness inherent in woodcut printing."
©James Jean
Artist
James Jean, the international artist whose celebrated collaboration with South Korea’s BTS lights up HYBE INSIGHT in Seoul, continues his work in ukiyo-e
The world is the stage for James Jean, an artist whose collaboration with South Korean pop band BTS was showcased at the HYBE INSIGHT museum in Seoul in 2021. Once again, Jean has closely with the carvers and printers at the Adachi Institute of Woodcut Prints to complete the sixth title in his special “Muse” series of woodcut prints, "Chine.”
Energy coursing through the spine sprouts tendrils and flowers. The body is fragile yet strong. There is a tangle of contradictions which creates her life. "Chine" is the long-awaited new woodcut print by Jean that thoroughly demonstrates the attraction of this artist's work.
Artist
The artist feebee takes on the role of ukiyo-e artist for the series of "The Beast Known as Kotobuki". Special piece created for the Year of the Rabbit for 2023 Presenting "The Beast Known as Kotobuki – Rabbit -"
feebee is an accomplished illustrator who has been active in recent years as a creator of modern art. The Adachi Institute of Woodcut Prints proudly presents our new collaboration with feebee after "Tiger" for 2022, "Ox" for 2021 and "Rat" for 2020 entitled "The Beast Known as Kotobuki - Rabbit -" portraying an auspicious creature -- a chimera that embodies all the animals of the Eastern zodiac.
It is a magnificent work of contemporary ukiyo-e incorporating the traditional Chinese painting technique of Gongbi to fully express the elaborate and mystical style of the artist.
Artist
The first woodcut print by painter LY
A blackhumanoid character 'LUV' holding gray flowers
LY is an artist widely recognized for her painted murals that adorn the Omotesando / Harajuku area. Her world created with black, white and various shades of gray is full of a unique atmosphere, and a black humanoid character "LUV" is the important resident of her world who speaks for the artist's inner voices.
LY depicts "LUV" holding gray flowers in her first woodcut print, "LUV with Gray Flowers". It was completed as a work which perfectly conveys the artist's message with a natural and warm texture of woodcut print.
Artist
A collaboration between Martin Whatson, a new generation street artist based in Norway, and traditional woodcut prints
Martin Whatson, a new-generation street artist based in Norway, has been one of the world's leading street artists since his debut in 2006, having solo exhibitions and participating in numerous group shows around the world. In "Equilibrium," Whatson's first woodcut print as an ukiyo-e artist, he depicts a dancer, one of his representative motifs. His signature style of fusing stencils and graffiti is vividly expressed through woodcut prints. In addition, after the prints were produced, the artist himself handfinished them one by one, making each print a one-of-a-kind work of art.
Artist
The first woodcut print of Hiroshi Nagai has come together with traditional woodcut printing techniques!
Hiroshi Nagai is a popular illustrator who has colored various scenes with posters and advertisements as well as records and CDs, such as the jacket for Eiichi Otaki's "A Long Vacation," a masterpiece of Japanese pop history. In particular, many of the works he created for the record jackets of numerous artists representing the "City Pop" genre that was popular in Japan in the 1970s and 1980s are still loved by many people today along with the music and have recently become popular overseas.
Now, his representative work "Time goes by..." has been completed as a woodcut print by the printers and carvers at the Adachi Institute of Woodcut Prints. Using traditional woodcut printing techniques, the prints fully express the charm of the artist, who has created a unique world view in simple and clean compositions.
Artist
An artist widely supported by people across national borders
Yusuke Hanai's second contemporary ukiyo-e
Yusuke Hanai, who is expanding his field of activity both in Japan and overseas, including collaborations with street fashion brands such as BEAMS and VANS, has now completed his second modern ukiyo-e woodcut print using traditional woodcut printing techniques.
His work style, which was strongly influenced by the counterculture of the 1950s and 1960s, is a unique style that fuses Japanese aesthetics with American retro illustrations.
Mr. Hanai's unique worldview, which captures the warmth of people's natural expressions and poses, was combined with the warm texture of woodcut prints to create an intriguing and resonating piece.
Photo:Kenji Mori
Artist
"Floating World" of Keiichi Tanaami, a World Woven Together by Eros and Thanatos
For more than half a century, the artist Keiichi Tanaami has been a driving force on the Japanese art scene. In recent years, his large-scale exhibitions at the Kawasaki City Museum, Ginza Graphic Gallery and other venues have garnered high praise. He has gained support from people of all ages through ambitious projects including collaborations with Adidas and Uniqlo.
Now, the first woodcut print by Keiichi Tanaami has been completed. The world we live in today was projected onto the piece in psychedelic colors, revealing a truly "Floating World." We hope you enjoy the world of Keiichi Tanaami woven together by Eros and Thanatos as presented in the form of a woodcut print.
Artist
Ukiyo-e Series by Izumi Kato Begins
Through paintings, sculptures, lithographs and various other means of expression, Izumi Kato has conveyed his unique sensibilities to create a world of his own. Now, he is venturing into the world of ukiyo-e and Japanese traditional woodcut prints for the first time. Izumi Kato grew up in an area of Shimane Prefecture richly endowed with nature. Although using "hitogata" (literally “humanlike form") as his motif and having the impression of primitive and animism, the artist breaks free from all constraints to create his first ukiyo-e based on traditional woodcut printing techniques. It is a powerful and captivating piece of work full of vital energy.
Artist
Promising Young Artist Tomiyuki Kaneko Ventures into the World of Ukiyo-e!
The Brilliantly Colored World of Divine Beasts
"Red Tiger""Blue Tiger"
Based in Yamagata, Tomiyuki Kaneko is an up-and-coming artist whose works portray an ethereal universe of spirits, monstrous creatures and divine beings. Through traditional woodcut printing techniques, Mr. Kaneko's universe of divine beasts has now been brought to life in brilliant colors as "Red Tiger""Blue Tiger."
Artist
Contemporary Ukiyo-e Artist,Yu Miyazaki
The Adachi Foundation has sponsored the Adachi Contemporary Ukiyo-e Award every year from 2009 in the aim of exploring Ukiyo-e artists who will produce works in collaboration with contemporary carvers and printers. This spring, the grand prize was awarded to Yu Miyazaki, whose contemporary Ukiyo-e is now ready to be unveiled. This is a contemporary Ukiyo-e bijin-ga (portrait of a beautiful woman) produced by carvers and printers at the Adachi Institute of Woodcut Prints based on an original artwork Ms. Miyazaki created especially for the woodcut print.
photo by Yohei Sogabe
Artist
Artist Akira Yamaguchi takes the point of view of an "outsider" to create a "meisho-e" or ukiyo-e landscape of the famous Dogo Onsen, known as the setting for the novel "Botchan."100 Famous View of Dogo ? Isaniwa Shrine
The meisho-e "100 Famous View of Dogo ? Isaniwa Shrine" created by the popular contemporary artist Akira Yamaguchi for "Dogo Art 2016," an event presently taking place in Dogo Onsen hot spring, has now been completed as a contemporary ukiyo-e. It is a much-awaited new work to follow the previous contemporary ukiyo-e "The New Famous Views of the Eastern Capital (Toto Meisho) Series" created in two collaboration projects with the Adachi Institute of Woodcut Prints.
Photo:?Mallikarjun Katakol
Artist
India and Japan ? A True Cultural Exchange
N. S. Harsha, an Artist from South India, Undertakes an Ukiyo-e Project for the First Time!
Born in South India, the artist N. S. Harsha is currently active around the world. To mark his first exhibition in Japan entitled “N. S. Harsha: Charming Journey” (Mori Art Museum, February 4, - June 11, 2017), he took on the role of an ukiyo-e artist and worked with carvers and printers at the Adachi Institute of Woodcut Prints to create modern works of ukiyo-e.N. S. Harsha is known for his unique use of color, which is filled with a sense of clarity and transparency. The original woodcut prints are a brilliant fusion of Mr. Harsha's original style and the distinct feel of woodcut prints that is born from traditional Japanese handcrafted paper and watercolors. We are pleased to introduce the collaborative works of Mr. Harsha, who reflects on traditional Indian culture to establish his own unique form of artistic expression, and the Adachi Institute, which strives to keep alive the traditional woodcut printing techniques of Japan.
Photo=Seiya Kawamoto
Yasunari Ikenaga, the contemporary artist and creator of bijin-ga portraits of beautiful women, completes his first magnificent work in ukiyo-e!
Yasunari Ikenaga is an artist known for his portraits of enchanting modern beauties captured through delicate lines and a unique use of color. Now, Mr. Ikenaga has taken on the role of the modern ukiyo-e artist to create his first bijin-ga or picture of a beautiful woman in collaboration with carvers and printers at the Adachi Institute of Woodcut Prints, who have kept ukiyo-e production techniques alive in the present day. This is an original woodcut print created by Mr. Ikenaga who depicts the opulent elegance of the woman making full use of the smooth lines characteristic of woodcut prints and the soft textures of washi Japanese paper.
© YAYOI KUSAMA
Artist
Inspired by Yayoi Kusama's My Mt. Fuji
Collaboration between Avant-garde and Tradition
Yayoi Kusama is one of the world's leading avant-garde painters today. Easily identifiable with their colourful polka dot patterns, her artworks have a unique, unforgettable charm. Ms. Kusama teamed up with the Adachi Institute's carvers and printers to create her first-ever ukiyo-e, traditional Japanese woodcut prints that continue to be highly acclaimed around the world today. This collaboration was covered in "The Premium: Yayoi Kusama's Mt. Fuji ? Challenging Ukiyo-e," a program aired on NHK BS Premium on New Year's Day 2015. The response from all sectors was overwhelming.
Ms. Kusama is in the limelight internationally for her artworks that consistently exceed the imagination. By collaborating with her, the Adachi Institute of Woodcut Prints was able to identify possibilities for fresh, new artistic expressions amid tradition, a key for passing down traditional woodcut print techniques to future generations.As the results of this collaboration between avant-garde and tradition, Ms. Kusama's contemporary ukiyo-e are exhibited here for the first time.
Project x Adachi Institute
Project
Encounter between traditional woodcut prints and contemporary artists in 1979
“Japanese Woodcut Prints Today”
Based on the belief that not only the reproduction of historic ukiyo-e but also the production of “contemporary ukiyo-e” is essential to pass on traditional woodcut printing techniques to future generations, in 1979, the Adachi Institute of Woodcut Prints produced and published a collection of original woodcut prints entitled “Japanese Woodcut Prints Today” with the concept of “encounter between traditional woodcut prints and contemporary artists.” The project received the support of five designers and illustrators then working on the frontlines of their fields – Kiyoshi Awazu, Mitsuo Katsui, Ikko Tanaka, Shoji Yamafuji and Makoto Wada – who worked with the artisans at the Adachi Institute of Woodcut Prints to produce original woodcut prints.
Project
"Hokusai Patterns" are revived now contemporary designers inspired by Hokusai's "Album of New Format of Fine Patterns"
Katsushika Hokusai was one of the most famous ukiyo-e artists in Edo era. World renown Hokusai was also active as a designer as well as the genius ukiyo-e artist who produced many masterpieces such as "Thirty-six Views of Mt. Fuji". He published "Album of New Format of Fine Patterns" which is the design book for the Kimono fabric's pattern in 1824 and these patterns are still very popular over centuries. In 1987, contemporary designers who were inspired by Hokusai's patterns took them into their own works as motifs and produced woodcut prints with artisans who inherit the techniques from the time of Hokusai at Adachi Institute of Woodcut Prints.
K.Asaba/K.Sato/S.Matsunaga
"Hokusai Design Contemporary Prints from Hokusai Design Sketchbook"
Project
World-Leading Artistic Creators Interpret Ukiyo-e
TOKYO DESIGN WEEK in Milano Salone 2015
“Homage to UKIYOE”
The “Homage to Ukiyoe” project, first exhibited during the Tokyo Design Week in Milano Salone 2015, enabled six of the world’s most renowned contemporary artists and designers to become ukiyo-e (traditional Japanese woodcut print) artists. Collaborating with the carvers and printers of the Adachi Institute of Woodcut Prints, and guided by the “Homage to Ukiyoe” theme, these currently active creators produced contemporary ukiyo-e expressing their own individual interpretations of the woodcut prints of Japan's Edo period (1603?1867) that influenced Van Gogh and Monet.
Adachi Institute of Woodcut Prints
Pursuing New Artistic Expressions amid Tradition
The Adachi Institute of Woodcut Prints has worked to pass down the traditional Japanese woodcut print techniques from generation to generation. In addition to producing traditional prints, Adachi Institute works together with contemporary artists to create new, original, artwork using the woodcut print medium.
Ukiyo-e: The Pride of Japan
Offering the Heart of Ukiyo-e to People Today
Ukiyo-e have influenced Impressionist painters and many other kinds of artists since the second half of the 19th century, and they continue to be highly acclaimed around the world today. Ukiyo-e captivate viewers with the unique delicacy of their lines, the brightness of their colours, and their thoroughgoing minimalism that emerged through ukiyo-e's origins in commercial printing. This beauty is further heightened by the unique warmth imparted by Japan's distinctive materials: cherrywood woodblocks, water-based pigments, and handmade washi (Japanese paper). The Adachi Institute aims to produce contemporary ukiyo-e, original woodcut prints that fully incorporate the woodcut print techniques developed for ukiyo-e centuries ago.
Creating the Finest Woodcut Prints
A Group of Artisans
Since the time of its founding, the Adachi Institute has engaged in woodcut print production. To create the finest prints, we structured Adachi as a studio where the best carvers and printers work side by side. To preserve and pass down traditional woodcut print techniques?the pride of Japan to the world?the Adachi Institute established the Adachi Foundation for the Preservation of Woodcut Printing in 1994. Under this foundation, apprentices join in our production activities and receive training. Young artisans who will spearhead the future learn techniques and seek to further improve them by working with master artisans every day.
Experience the Captivating Beauty of Contemporary Ukiyo-e at Our Showroom
The Adachi Institute of Woodcut Prints
- Address
- 3-13-17 Shimoochiai, Shinjuku, Tokyo 161-0033
- TEL
- +81-3-3951-2681
- Access
-
<By Train> JR Yamanote line
About 10-mins. walk from Mejiro Station
<By Bus> Toei Bus (No.65)
About 5-mins. walk from Shimoochiai 3-chome Busstop
- Hours
-
10:00-18:00 (Weekdays)
10:00-17:00 (Saturdays)
- Closed
- Sundays,Mondays,National Holidays and Year-end Holidays