The Hokusai Sketchbooks (9784805320303)

The sketchbooks that changed the history of art in a landmark collector's edition.

Between 1814 and 1878, Katsushika Hokusai published his celebrated Manga, a series of woodblock-printed sketchbooks that became one of the most popular art publications in history. This volume presents a representative selection from those famous works, capturing the vitality of Edo-era Japan and the boundless curiosity of one of the world's great artists.

Bound in the traditional Japanese style with a slipcase, this deluxe volume presents:

• A selection of 1,000 drawings from Hokusai's Manga: Drawn from the original multi-volume series and carefully selected to represent the full range of his subjects and style
• A vivid record of traditional Japanese life: Scenes of people, nature, landscapes and daily activities
• An extraordinary variety of subjects: From animals and plants to architecture, folklore and astronomy, which in total provide a rich visual encyclopedia of traditional Japan
• Faithful, high-quality reproductions: Carefully sourced from the original volumes to preserve the soft, expressive quality of the woodblock prints
• Insightful commentary by James A. Michener: Expert essays, captions, and thematic organization that deepen our understanding of Hokusai's art and influence, with a new introduction by Japanese art expert Andreas Marks

This book will appeal to art lovers, collectors, designers and anyone interested in Japanese culture. Combining world-renowned artwork, scholarly insight and broad subject appeal, it remains an inspiring visual resource and a beautifully-produced classic in its own right.


About the Author:
As an artist, Katsushika Hokusai was deeply dedicated to his craft, leading a life marked by continuous exploration and reinvention. Born in 1760 in Edo (now Tokyo), he began his journey in art as an apprentice to Katsukawa Shunsho, where he mastered the ukiyo-e style. Throughout his career, he created over 30,000 works, ranging from woodblock prints to sketches and book illustrations. He passed away on May 10, 1849, but his legacy endures, influencing countless artists and movements globally.

James A. Michener (1907-1997) was a Pulitzer Prize-winning American author famed for his sweeping, meticulously researched historical sagas. His breakout work, Tales of the South Pacific, inspired the classic musical South Pacific. Michener became a literary titan by blending deep geographical history with multi-generational narratives in epics like Hawaii, Alaska, and Texas.

Andreas Marks received his PhD from Leiden University with a dissertation on 19th-century Japanese actor prints. Since 2013, he has been the Mary Griggs Burke Curator of Japanese and Korean Art and Director of the Clark Center for Japanese Art at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. His research has earned the International Ukiyo-e Society Award and the International Fine Print Dealers Association's top book award twice (2018 and 2022). He is the author of almost 30 books including Japanese Woodblock Prints: Artists, Publishers and Masterworks: 1680-1900 and Japanese Yokai and Other Supernatural Beings: Authentic Paintings, Prints of 100 Ghosts, Demons, Monsters and Magicians.