Message from Clay Dube

[clay dube]

To respond to Walter Banta's query, there are many volumes of woodblock prints available, some quite inexpensive (try Edward R. Hamilton, Bookseller, I've not ordered from them recently, but used to quite a lot -- shipping was $3 regardless of the size of the order). These prints have long fascinated Westerners. As Prof. Pitelka likely told you, the architect Frank Lloyd Wright was an avid collector. The LA County Museum of Art featured his prints in an exhibition a few years ago. James Michener, the popular writer, produced one book about them.

On the web, ukiyo-e collections are plentiful. One especially rich site is Ukiyo-e Gallery: Fine Japanese Prints: http://www.ukiyoe-gallery.com/. It's a commercial site, but offers a lot of info on prints and would be a good source for those building presentations for class.

A great site for teachers and students is the Library of Congress's The Floating World of Ukiyo-e: Shadows, Dreams, and Substance: http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/ukiyo-e/.

Perhaps someone would like to write reviews of these sites for the "web resources" thread of the Asia in My Classroom forum?

http://uschinaforum.usc.edu/showpost.aspx?PostID=390&PageIndex=42