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Osaka prints and other Japanese works of art

We specialize in kamigata-e, original eighteenth to twentieth century Japanese woodblock prints from Osaka and the surrounding region. We also offer nineteenth-century Edo prints and twentieth-century art works from Osaka, Tokyo, and other regions of the world. Our inventory is comprehensive and always changing, with a broad range of artists and prices.

Gallery: Our Sales Gallery is arranged by genre and artist. Each print is accompanied by a full description.

Articles and More: We offer Articles on topics related to Osaka prints, many covering aspects of Japanese printmaking that have been overlooked in the standard literature. Essays on other topics can be found at Varia. We also maintain an Archive of the information pages for all sold prints. An extensive Glossary, artists' Biographies, and detailed Bibliography serve as additional resources.

Contacts: You may write to us or E-mail us with your questions or requests to purchase Osaka prints, drawings, and paintings — see Contact Us and Conditions of Sale.

Links: Here we recommend Other Websites with information and images related to Osaka prints.

Search: Provides text/keyword and image searches. See the Search Page.

Video: Offers an introduction to the art of kamigata-e (Osaka video).

 

Winter/Spring Sale 2026

arrowSale 2026

Dear friends,

After a longer than usual break (due to both John and I being ukiyo-e-deep in new book projects) we are pleased to offer our winter-spring 2026 update, one with a raft of striking and unusual works.

From the world of classic ukiyo-e, in addition to our first-ever Hokusai offering, you can find nine particularly handsome prints from Osaka—all from the golden age of ôban production — including two designs by Hokusai’s student Hokushû and two by prolific but sometimes ignored Ashiyuki.

In addition, probably unanticipated from a website with our name, a dozen sōsaku hanga prints by postwar artists stand ready to surprise you. Strong works by that period’s big names (Saitô, Sekino, etc ) are accompanied by rarely encountered pieces from less well-known but still noteworthy figures. Please spend time to savor all the variegated riches in this update, and we are looking forward to hearing from you.

Once again, please note the recently released Hokuei, Master of Osaka Kabuki Prints, by John Fiorillo.

I am extremely proud to make note of the publication, following twenty years of focused collecting and a decade of scholarly research, of John's authoritative 280-page catalog raisonné on Shunbaisai Hokuei.

Hokuei Book coverReaders of this website are certainly familiar with the name Hokuei (act. 1828–36), and many know his more celebrated designs. However, it is safe to say that until now very few people (anywhere in the ukiyo-e world) had a secure grasp of the scale of Hokuei’s oeuvre or his correct place in Kamigata ukiyo-e history.

For this book, John exhaustively sourced impressions of the 270 known Hokuei designs. This was a demanding labor in itself, but one that proved worthwhile thanks to the fastidious color-proofing and almost unprecedentedly elegant design on the part of the art book publisher Ludion. This is one catalog raisonné where even the thumbnails stand out, to say nothing of the more than fifty full-page highlighted designs.

Thanks to an introductory essay and extensive appendices, plus an in-depth glossary, readers can absorb not only the scale of Hokuei’s artistic achievements as a culminating figure in Kamigata printmaking, but also become acquainted with the larger culture of Kamigata kabuki that included playwriting, actor idolatry, publishing and printmaking artisanry. Hokuei: Master of Osaka Kabuki Prints serves as a near-encyclopedia of Kamigata ukiyo-e during its golden age. 

Japan residents can order the book directly from this website (¥10,000 with free shipping). All others should use their local Amazon website, or inquire at their bookseller of choice.

Cheers,

Peter Ujlaki
John Fiorillo

P.S. Responses to John's book have been entirely positive, and sales have far exceeded expectations. One reviewer wrote that "Fiorillo's book Hokuei is a product of passion. The book is comprehensive, rich in details, and well-organised. It can be expected to be the definitive work on Hokuei for years to come and sets a standard for the catalogue raisonné format that others should strive to maintain." (Jim Dwinger, Andon 119, June 2025)

arrowWinter/Spring Sale 2025

 

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