The Ultimate Netsuke Bibliography is a comprehensive bibliography of more than 4,400 bibliographic print and non-print entries covering all aspects of Japanese netsuke, the miniature carvings which Japanese men used to suspend various items from the sash belt that fastened their kimono. It is organized into 15 major and 5 minor categories. Each category is further divided into 11 subcategories. Additional features include four indices (Author, Journal, Place, and Subject), and a variety of appendices. It contains 2,196 books, 1,861 journal articles (457 from the Netsuke Kenkyukai Study Journal), 367 from the Journal of the International Netsuke Collectors Society 1,494 auction catalogs, 431 items in French, 254 items in Japanese, 60 items prior to 1900, including 9 auction catalogs. Includes most materials published through the end of 1998. A section of Late Arrivals, including last minute submissions and items in early 1999, is listed as well. This volume is a necessity for every netsuke collector, bibliophile, art library and museum.

In the years following Japan's long period of self-imposed isolation from the world, Japan developed a new relationship with the West, and especially with Britain, where relations grew to be particularly close. The Japanese, embarrassed by their perceived comparative backwardness, looked to the West to learn modern industrial techniques, including the design and engineering skills which underpinned them. At the same time, taking great pride in their own culture, they exhibited and sold high quality products of traditional Japanese craftsmanship in the West, stimulating a thirst for, and appreciation of, Japanese arts and crafts. This book examines the two-way bridge-building cultural exchange which took place between Japan and Britain in the years after 1859 and into the early years of the twentieth century. Topics covered include architecture, industrial design, prints, painting and photographs, together with a consideration of Japanese government policy, the Japan-Britain Exhibition of 1910, and commercial spin-offs. In addition, there are case studies of key individuals who were particularly influential in fostering British-Japanese cultural bridges in this period.

"This book is published in conjunction with the exhibition, Christianity in Asia: sacred art and visual splendour, presented at the Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore, from 27 May to 11 September 2016"--Title page verso.

Japan held a profound fascination for western artists in the latter half of the nineteenth century and the influence of Japonisme on western art was pervasive. Paradoxically, just as western artists were beginning to find inspiration in Japan and Japanese art, Japan was opening to the western world and beginning a process of thorough modernisation, some have said westernisation. The mastery of western art was included in the programme. This book examines the nineteenth century art world against this background and explores Japanese influences on four artists working in Britain in particular: the American James McNeill Whistler, the Australian Mortimer Menpes, and the 'Glasgow boys' George Henry and Edward Atkinson Hornel. Japonisme in Britian is richly illustrated throughout.