Opening the world of ukiyo-e to you
Are you familiar with ukiyo-e prints?
You have seen them at exhibitions.
You have seen them in your art textbooks.
You have seen them on matchboxes,etc.
Let us introduce you to the wonderful world of ukiyo-e.
Ukiyo-e prints are a worldly acknowledged work of art.
Ukiyo-e prints influcnced improssionistic artists such as Van Gogh and Gauguin,
and is a worldly acknowledged work of art to the extent
that Sharaku's name is listed as one of the six great portraitists in the world.
Van Gogh and Gauguin yearned to visit Japan, the world of ukiyo-e, and copied ukiyo-e prints.
In Japan, many people crowd into ukiyo-e print exhibitions
but most people believe that only a limited number of fans can actually own ukiyo-e prints.
Many people believe that they are unable to purchase one.
Furthermore, people do not know where they can purchase ukiyo-e prints.
Most people do not even know the existence of galleries specializing in ukiyo-e prints.
Let me briefly introduce to you some information that would allow you to stop into the world of ukiyo-e.
Ukiyo-e prints influcnced improssionistic artists such as Van Gogh and Gauguin,
and is a worldly acknowledged work of art to the extent
that Sharaku's name is listed as one of the six great portraitists in the world.
Van Gogh and Gauguin yearned to visit Japan, the world of ukiyo-e, and copied ukiyo-e prints.
In Japan, many people crowd into ukiyo-e print exhibitions
but most people believe that only a limited number of fans can actually own ukiyo-e prints.
Many people believe that they are unable to purchase one.
Furthermore, people do not know where they can purchase ukiyo-e prints.
Most people do not even know the existence of galleries specializing in ukiyo-e prints.
Let me briefly introduce to you some information that would allow you to stop into the world of ukiyo-e.
Also,there are people who believe that it is too late to start collecting such
ukiyo-e prints.That is not true.
The best time to start collecting ukiyo-e prints is when you want to start collecting
ukiyo-e prints.
If you collect ukiyo-e prints with patience and persistence,
you too can own a wonderful collection.
you can own a collection of ukiyo-e prints better than museums.
There are still many ukiyo-e prints that are of high quality.
If you collect the best quality art work one at a time,
it is even possible to own prints that are of a higher quality than museums.
Ukiyoe prints are woodblock prints.
By printing multiple times with woodblocks, a print is created.
Therefore, because the wood becomes worn between the first print and the hundredth print,
the five handredth print,
the seven hundredth print, the prices differ.
Furthermore, because the prints were printed more than one hundred,
or one hundred and fifty years ago,
the preservation condition differs greatly.
So the price fluctuates depending on each preservation condition.
This is not something difficult to comprehend.
A print that is of the same condition as when it was printed in the Edo period
and printed earlier in the printing process is the most expensive among the same picture.
Compared to such prints, the more defects- unclear printing, existence of worm-eaten holes,
traces of folds, spots or stains, a piece of paper glued on to the back of the print-the less expensive the print is priced.
The price is determined based on points deducted by defects.
Therefore, one picture can have a price of several million yen or a price of several ten thousand yen.
There most be some people who worry that they will be sold an imitation.
It is true that reproductions printed around the Meiji period,
which have an antique look because they were printed over a hundred years ago,
are hard to distinguish by laymen.
Some galleries that sell ukiyo-e prints but do not specialize in such area of art may sell counterfeit works claiming that they are originals.
Also, there are cases of ukiyo-e prints being sold for several hundred thousand yen
where the specialized galleries wound sell the work for only several ten thousand yen.
You may wonder why such cases exist.
This is because those selling ukiyo-e prints have only about the same amount of knowledge
as the laymen.
Special works should be purchased through specialized galleries.
A specialized gallery will have the appropriate price for a work of art.
If it is a gallery specializing in art, it will not sell a counterfeit work
because doing so will affect its own reputation.
In this industry, the trust a gallery rcceives from customers is the most important factor
in conducting business.
Because once the gallery loses the trust of customers, it is extremely difficult to recover it.
Thorefore, a specialized gallery makes a daily effort to conduct an honest business.
A specialized gallery has a different attitude towards its customers than a gallery
that does all kinds of business with limited knowledge in a particular field of art.
A specialized gallery devotes itself to have a customer purchase an original piece
of work at the appropriate price, not simply to sell a piece of art.
Therefore, a customer may rest assure when purchasing a work of art from a specialized gallery.
We, the members of ukiyoe dealers association of japan,
constitute the largest gallery organization in the wold specializing in ukiyo-e prints.
From various locations in Japan, the U.S.A., England, France, Germany,
the Netherlands, and variousother countries around the world,
first-class galleries that specialize in ukiyo-e prints attend study daily about ukiyo-e prints.
We sell ukiyo-e prints at the appropriate price so that the customers can purchase one with assurance.
We believe you will be satisfied with our service.
At our gallery, all works of art have a price.
We do not raise the price depending on each customer beforehand,
and then do business saying we give discounts, sometimes even offering a 30 % discount.
That is because we have confidence in our price cards.
Even for the collectors, we are confident that we can provide high-quality works of art
at a reasonable price.
At all times we carry over one thousand ukiyo-e prints in stock.
It is our belief that customers will definitely be able to find ukiyo-e prints that will satisfy them.