Cultural Impressions: A Japanese Woodblock Printmaking Demonstration
Woodblock printing holds a rich history in Japan, evolving from its initial use in religious texts to becoming a widely popular and accessible art form, especially during the Edo period (1603-1868). Its capacity for mass production and affordability facilitated its extensive adoption for creating ukiyo-e prints, which often depict the daily lives of ordinary people. In conjunction with the current exhibition, Textured Stories: The Chirimen Books of Modern Japan, Keiji Shinohara will demonstrate woodblock printmaking while also exploring the history of ukiyo-e and the evolution of techniques and tools used in the production of multicolor prints.
Reception will follow in the Common Room. Registration is recommended but not required.
About the Speaker
Keiji Shinohara was an apprentice to the renowned ukiyo-e printer Keiichiro Uesugi in Kyoto for 10 years, after which he became a Master Printmaker and moved to the United States in 1985. He has been teaching at Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT since 1995 and has traveled nationally and internationally to more than 100 venues as a visiting artist and put on 40 solo shows. He has received grants from the Japan Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts, and his work is featured in many public collections, including the Legion of Honor in San Francisco, the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Fogg Art Museum at Harvard University, Milwaukee Art Museum, the Library of Congress, and the National Museum of Asian Art at the Smithsonian Institution. He has given lectures at the Los Angeles County Museum Los Angeles, CA; the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, MA; the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY; and the Chicago Art Institute, Chicago, IL.
Insight into Meiji Japanese Art, Books, and Prints
This event is part of the "Insight into Meiji Japanese Art, Books, and Prints" program, organized by Haruko Nakamura, Librarian of Japanese Studies, and Yoshitaka Yamamoto, Assistant Professor of East Asian Languages and Literatures. The program features a public lecture by Professor Chelsea Foxwell on September 26th and a woodblock printmaking demonstration by Professor Keiji Shinohara on October 8th, to be held concurrently with an exhibition at Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library curated by Nakamura and Yamamoto titled, "Textured Stories: The Chirimen Books of Modern Japan." The exhibit is scheduled to take place on the 2nd floor of the Beinecke from September 2nd, 2025, to May 3rd, 2026.