Meiji Woodblock Prints by Utagawa Kokunimasa

In the Collection of the National Maritime Museum in Gdańsk

Abstract

The Western world discovered the Japanese art of woodblock printing at the end of the 19th century. Europeans were fascinated by melancholic views of Mount Fuji or expressive and immensely decorative depictions of kabuki actors and geishas from the Edo period. Only in recent decades did prints from the Meiji era win the recognition and appreciation of researchers as well as the general public. The focus of this article is on chosen aspects of the iconography of a group of woodblock prints by Utagawa Kokunimasa from the Russo-Japanese War 1904–1905 in the collection of the National Maritime Museum in Gdańsk.