Nihon meizan zue (Illustrations of Famous Mountains in Japan)
Tani Bunchō, Nihon meizan zue (Illustrations of Famous Mountains in Japan), 1812 (imprint); preface dated 1804, woodblock printed bound book, monochrome; vols. 1-3 (complete), Museum Purchase: Funds provided by Mrs. James Stevens, public domain, 90.2a-c
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- Title
Nihon meizan zue (Illustrations of Famous Mountains in Japan)
- Related Titles
book title (original language): 日本名山図会
book title (translated): Illustrations of Famous Mountains in Japan
book title (transliterated): Nihon meizan zue
- Artist
- Related People
- Date
1812 (imprint); preface dated 1804
- Period
Japan: Edo period (1615-1868)
- Medium
woodblock printed bound book, monochrome; vols. 1-3 (complete)
- Dimensions (H x W x D)
each book: 10 3/8 in x 7 3/8 in x 1/2 in
- Inscriptions & Markings
title: 日本 // 名山図会, printed in black ink, cover of each book Transliteration (Translation): Nihon // meizan zue (Japan // illustrations of famous mountains) Language: Japanese
artist's seal: 文晁, printed in black ink within rectangular cartouche, preface Transliteration (Translation): Bunchō ([seal of the artist Tani Bunchō 谷文晁]) Language: Japanese
collector's mark: 藤井蔵書, printed in red relief within square cartouche, various Transliteration (Translation): Fujii zōsho (Fujii Collection) Language: Japanese
inscription: 日本名山図会 // 江谷文晁先生著 // 全三冊, printed in black ink, preface in vol. 1 Transliteration (Translation): Nihon meizan zue // Edo Tani Bunchō sensei cho // zen sansatsu (illustrations of famous places in Japan // a work by Tani Bunchō // 3 volumes total) Language: Japanese
- Collection Area
Asian Art; Graphic Arts
- Category
Books, Portfolios, and Manuscripts
Japanese Traditional Prints
- Object Type
relief print
book
- Culture
Japanese
- Credit Line
Museum Purchase: Funds provided by Mrs. James Stevens
- Accession Number
90.2a-c
- Copyright
public domain
- Terms
These topographic illustrations reflect Tani Bunchō’s interest in recording the Japanese landscape based on first-hand observation. Bunchō worked closely with the shogunate to produce accurate visual records of strategic sites around Japan, and he likely visited most of the mountains in these volumes. For those he hadn’t seen, Bunchō relied on sketches by trusted friends. The crisp lines and textures of Bunchō’s illustrations, as well as their striking sense of deep space, reflect the artist’s study of European engravings. Some of Bunchō’s mountains would later make their way to Europe as illustrations in one of the first European accounts of Japan published by the German doctor, Philipp Franz von Siebold (1796–1866).
- Exhibitions
1999 Three Centuries of Japanese Prints from the Museum's Collections Portland Art Museum
2006 Through Rustling Grasses: Nature in the Japanese Print Portland Art Museum
2011 The Artist's Touch, The Craftsman's Hand: Three Centuries of Japanese Prints from the Portland Art Museum Portland Art Museum
2022; 2023 Human Nature: 150 Years of Japanese Landscape Prints Portland Art Museum
