Discovering Old Design Books in Kyoto
Shin-Bijutsukai: a splendid Japanese design magazine from 100 years ago
Welcome to the 15th volume of Morning Pages, a newsletter sharing inspirations on art, creativity, and coaching wisdom.
A year ago this day, I was wandering on the streets of Kyoto, on a mission to find a Japanese design magazine from 100 years ago.
I love visiting local galleries and antique shops when I travel. I have been interested in Asian design patterns for a few years. In 2016, I began my second 100-day project to learn block printing and carving traditional design patterns. I wanted to explore the traditional way of block printing. Unfortunately, carving one block a day ended up being too ambitious. I didn’t reach 100 days for this project. But since then, I developed an interest in woodblock printing and Asian design patterns.
In Oct 2019, I stumbled upon a Japanese indigo print book at an antique market. The book came from the late 19th century. It’s a catalog of different stencil patterns that could be printed onto fabric to make a kimono. It was my first encounter with an antique Japanese design pattern book.
Shin-Bijutsukai
While in Kyoto, I was looking for Shin-Bijutsukai (新美术海).
Shin-Bijutsukai is a collection of design magazines from 1901 to 1902. Each image is an original woodblock print in excellent condition with brilliant color.
Korin Furuya (1875-1910) is the illustrator, designer, and editor of this legendary collection. Korin is a master Meiji era painter and designer of woodblock-printed books. He was one of the most important woodblock print designers of the time.
The publisher Unsodo(芸艸堂), is a large Japanese publishing company with branches in both Tokyo and Kyoto. Founded in 1891, this company still operates today. Unsodo has been printing high-quality pattern books for various crafts for centuries.
After two days of research and visiting multiple booksellers in Kyoto, I found a splendid set of Shin-Bijutsukaia in a later edition (printed in the 1970s by Unsodo) at キクオ書店(KiKuo).
Flipping through the pages of a Japanese design magazine from 100 years ago sparks so many creative ideas. The designs are inspirational and strikingly contemporary. The vivid colors and the flat shapes could easily mingle with the graphic design of today. This is a treasure that I feel very lucky to have discovered.
If you also enjoy the artwork from Shin-Bijutsukai, the complete series is available online at the Internet Archive. All 353 pages! 😍
If this story inspires you to collect art books from Japan, the article from Designer & Books shares helpful tips and considerations.
Interesting fact
Japanese wood print was one of Vincent Van Gogh’s main sources of inspiration. He became an enthusiastic collector. The prints acted as a catalyst: they taught him a new way of looking at the world.
The Van Gogh museum has curated a story and published a book about Van Gough’s collection of Japanese art.
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Yuan Studio is a space that explores the intersections of global cultures and identities. Currently, the studio is incubating a series of creative projects, such as Morning Pages, and offering coaching for people of color to harness the power of their creativity and leadership potential. You can reach out on Twitter and LinkedIn.