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Explore our 108-page paperback Yoshitoshi exhibition poster and catalogue, complete with an introductory essay and illustrations.

Ronin Gallery invites you to indulge your wanderlust through Hiroshige’s complete masterpiece series Famous Places in the 60-odd Provinces (1853-1856).

A special full moon will illuminate the evening sky this Friday night (Sept. 29th, 2023), marking an auspicious occasion in many East Asian cultures. Known as the Mid-Autumn Festival, or Chushu no Meigetsu in Japanese, the celebration signals the beginning of the annual harvest and usually falls on the 15th day of the eighth month of the Chinese lunisolar calendar.

Since the 17th century, kabuki theater has established itself as an integral piece of Japanese art and culture

From dives off the coast near Toba to intimate views within the ateliers of artisans, Michael Magers imbues each of his photographs with a story.

In Chefs, Shokunin, and the Moments in Between, Michael Magers considers his enduring interest in Japan and Japanese culture in his own words.

Asia week is over, the deluge of auctions and private sales has concluded, and the dust is settling on a new reality - Hokusai’s Under the Wave off Kanagawa, better known as the Great Wave, sold for $2.75M at Christie’s, New York, a new world record price.

This month we opened our latest exhibition Wanderlust: Hiroshige’s Journey Through the 60-odd Provinces with three days of celebration. From sake flights and culinary delights paired with select provinces, to a gallery walkthrough featuring some of our favorite designs, we invited guests to immerse themselves in Hiroshige’s Japan.

The name Ichikawa Danjuro is perhaps the most famous name on the kabuki stage, renowned for a dynamic acting style and iconic roles for more than three centuries. On October 31st, the name reached its thirteenth generation as Ichikawa Ebizo XI (né Horikoshi Takatoshi) succeeded to the name Ichikawa Danjuro XIII. He gave his first performance under his new name in the role of Musashibo Benkei in the play Kanjincho at the Kabuki-za Theater in Tokyo. Though officially announced in May 2020, the succession was postponed due to Covid-19 safety measures. Danjuro XIII succeeds his father, Ichikawa Danjuro XII, who died in 2013. At the same ceremony, the actor’s son Horikoshi Kangen made his kabuki debut under the name Ichikawa Shinnosuke VIII.

While the mention of Japanese woodblock prints may call to mind lavish courtesans and dynamic actors, the roots of the medium can be traced to the 8th century. At this time, woodblock printmaking traveled east with Buddhism through China and Korea, to Japan. In 764, Empress Koken eagerly embraced this medium and commissioned the Hyakumanto Darani, or the “One Million Pagodas and Dharani Prayers.” Each wooden pagoda housed a dainty Buddhist sutra, printed as a declaration of devotion and a plea for atonement. The medium largely retained this religious association and spiritual function until the Edo period (1615-1868).

From murals in London to postage stamps in Japan, Hokusai’s Great Wave (Under the Wave off Kanagawa) is one of the most recognizable works in the history of art. In its ubiquity, the image has become a shorthand for many things–not only for Japanese art or Japan, but also more abstractly, as an unstoppable force, a crashing cultural wave. But what is overlooked in the shadow of the wave?

From vengeful spirits to mischievous monsters, ukiyo-e teem with supernatural beings and spine-chilling tales. With Halloween upon us, we turn to one such tale–the story of Yorimasa and the nue–as told by two masters of the fearsome and fantastic, Kuniyoshi and Yoshitoshi. The nue is a chimeral monster with the head of a monkey, the body of a badger (or tanuki), the legs of a tiger, and a hissing snake as a tail, depending on the source.

Ronin Gallery invites you to step into the theatrical world of 18th-century kabuki. Katsukawa: Early Masters of Kabuki Portraiture presents the brightest stars of the kabuki stage through the eyes of the artists of the Katsukawa School. Named for its founder, Shunsho Katsukawa, this artistic lineage redefined the field of actor prints (yakusha-e) in the late 18th century.

Through the use of perspective, artists can both shape our perception and challenge our understanding of the subject. Perspective can be used as a tool to depict lifelike qualities, but it also can also invite the viewer to see familiar things in new ways. The exhibition On Perspective explores the power of artistic perception. It asks: how does the way we look at a subject change our understanding of it? This post was written by Inez Olszewski during her 2021 summer internship at Ronin Gallery. We would like to thank Inez for all her hard work!

As Tokyo prepared for a summer of international sporting events, the city completed an extensive construction of stadiums and venues around the metropolis to house the competitions. Bordered by the Sumida River to the west and Arakawa River to the east, the Koto Ward is home to the majority of the event locations, given its proximity to the Tokyo Bay and abundance of reclaimed land. The 45 districts of Koto-ku also encompass an area of the city rich in history, where many neighborhoods and landmarks date back to the Edo Period. Documented as one of the oldest hanamachi (geisha entertainment quarters) in Japan, the district of Fukagawa served as the backdrop for many notable ukiyo-e designs. In the print Fukagawa Susaki and Jumantsubo, Hiroshige presents an aerial view of the marshlands, looking northeast on a winter day. In View of the Sangen Teahouse in Snow at Fukagawa Hachiman Shrine in Toto (Edo), Kunisada captures a local beauty trudging through the snow.

Sarah Brayer is an internationally acclaimed artist who works in print and paper mediums. This May, we took a moment to catch up with her about her recent solo exhibition Inner Light at Kyoto’s Komyo-in Temple, her Luminosity series, and her latest book project.