Illustrated Book of Domestic Manners (Ehon teikin ōrai 絵本庭訓往来) : [volume 2]

Katsushika, Hokusai, 1760-1849 · 1828 · Nagoya and Edo : Eirakuya Tōshirō, 永楽屋東四郎, Tōhekidō, 東壁堂 · 30 pictures

A Japanese woodblock-printed illustrated primer of letter-writing vocabulary and domestic customs, produced in 1828 by Katsushika Hokusai for general readers, published in Nagoya and Edo by Eirakuya Tōshirō and Tōhekidō. The pages pair short columns of calligraphic text with small black-and-white scenes of everyday Edo-period life, with the figures drawn in fluid, economical outline. A designer could draw on the compact composition of text blocks beside framed vignettes, the crisp varied line weights, and the clear staging of interiors, street scenes and seasonal work.

Japan -- Social life and customs

Thomas J. Watson Library, The Metropolitan Museum of Art · No known copyright restrictions · More from this library