Japanese katazome and Moravian modrotisk Blue Print Techniques in the 19th century Japanese stencils have seized the imagination of European travellers from the earliest days of Japan’s opening to the world. However, a specific aesthetic link to the art of stencils could be found in...

Multitasking Dolls - On the Varied Roles Some Traditional Japanese Dolls Played  Traditional Japanese dolls had multiple functions, yet actual play was surprisingly enough not one of the most prominent ones. What roles did dolls have in traditional culture and why some of the most popular ones...

In today’s article we shall return to Monet’s painting[1] of the richly decorated kimono. We will have a look at some other features that show the common Western misinterpretation of Japan. Then we will have a closer look at one of the most striking motifs depicted on the kimono: red coloured...

In 1876 Claude Monet reflected on the contemporary craze for all things Japanese by exhibiting his picture aptly called La Japonaise at the 1876 Impressionist exhibition in Paris. This large scale oil painting features the artist’s wife Camille posing in a vibrantly coloured kimono against the...

On the meanings of fūryū (hence why we couldn’t have chosen a more apt name for our blog) The word fūryū is derived from the original Chinese word fengliu. This word itself had multiple meanings which also changed notably during centuries. Among the ones that we can still relate...