本书通过介绍200件在版画历史背景下最杰出的日本木版画作品揭开了这种广受喜爱但鲜为人知的艺术形式的面纱。从17世纪堕落的浮世绘的发展，到“浮动世界的图片”，再到20世纪初期版画的衰落和后来的复兴，此版中收集的图像无与伦比地记录了艺术史上一个独特的流派，还记录了日本转变的风俗习惯和文化发展。

制作三年来，这个XXL版本展示了来自全球各地博物馆和私人藏品中现存**的版画的复制品——其中许多是为这本书新近拍摄的。约17张令人惊叹的大插页邀请我们来研究甚至最细微的细节，详尽的描述则引导我们全面了解日本艺术史上这个疯狂的时期。

特色：

89位艺术家的作品，从举世闻名到名不见经传

按时间顺序分成七章，描述了这种艺术从1680年至1938年的历史

17张大插页，由于其尺寸和规格手工折叠而成

博物馆和私人收藏的**复制品

一份列出所有艺术家和作品的附录

This book lifts the veil on a much-loved but little-understood art form by presenting the 200 most exceptional Japanese woodblock prints in their historical context. Ranging from the 17th-century development of decadent ukiyo-e, or “pictures of the floating world,” to the decline and later resurgence of prints in the early 20th century, the images collected in this edition make up an unmatched record not only of a unique genre in art history, but also of the shifting mores and cultural development of Japan.

From mystical mountains to snowy passes, samurai swordsmen to sex workers in shop windows, each piece is explored as a work of art in its own right, revealing the stories and people behind the motifs. We discover the four pillars of the woodblock print―beauties, actors, landscapes, and bird-and-flower compositions―alongside depictions of sumo wrestlers, kabuki actors, or enticing courtesans―rock stars who populated the “floating world” and whose fan bases fueled the frenzied production of woodblock prints. We delve into the horrifying and the obscure in prints where demons, ghosts, man-eaters, and otherworldly creatures torment the living―stunning images that continue to influence Japanese manga, film, and video games to this day. We witness how, in their incredible breadth, from everyday scenes to erotica, the martial to the mythological, these works are united by the technical mastery and infallible eye of their creators and how, with tremendous ingenuity and tongue-in-cheek wit, publishers and artists alike fought to circumvent government censorship.

Three years in the making, this XXL edition presents reproductions of the finest extant impressions from the vaults of museums and private collections across the globe―many newly photographed especially for this project. Some 17 stunning fold-outs invite us to study even the subtlest details, while extensive descriptions guide us through this frantic period in Japanese art history.

The work of 89 artists, from the world-renowned to the unfamiliar

7 chapters organized chronologically to trace the history of the medium from 1680 to 1938

17 fold-outs, hand-folded due to their size and specifications

Exclusive reproductions from museums and private collections

An appendix listing all artists and works