Ukiyo-e, the art of woodblock design and printing, enjoyed a symbiosis with the kabuki theater almost from its inception in the late 17th century, with a significant number of images devoted to the popular theater. Learn More
As the creation of Japanese woodblock prints grew in popularity in the late Edo period, tigers could be found in the designs of many important ukiyo-e artists, either alone or shown in conflict with legendary Japanese warriors and tiger-hunters such as Kato Kiyomasa, “conqueror” of Korea. Learn More
In the late 19th and early 20th century, several Western writers who visited the newly-opened Japan assimilated, translated and published a host of weird, scary and stirring stories from the country's ancient folklore. Learn More
The female ghost or yurei (literally, "faded spirit”) is perhaps the most recognizable figure in Japanese horror culture, powerfully reinforced through the success of Japanese ghost films such as Ringu ("The Ring”) and Ju-On ("The Grudge”).
The story of the 47 ronin - a band of samurai who became masterless after the enforced seppuku (ritual suicide) of their daimyo, Asano Takumi-no-Kami Naganori - is a legend which stems from a true historical episode of deadly revenge during the period 1701-1703. Learn More
Kawanabe Kyosai (1831-89) was only 6 years old when he joined the school of the great ukiyo-e master Utagawa Kuniyoshi, along with such fellow pupils as Yoshitoshi, who followed him in 1850. Learn More
UKIYO-E - "images from the floating world” - were the most popular art-form of 19th century Japan. Like modern-day manga, these prints could be mass-produced and were admired by people from all sectors of society; and as in manga, the art of ukiyo-e included significant sub-genres dealing in violence, erotica and horror.