Unsodo Explained

UNSODO Corporation
Native Name:美術書出版株式会社芸艸堂
Native Name Lang:ja
Foundation:
Kyoto, Japan
Founder:Yamada Naosaburō
Location:Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto, Japan[1]

is a Japanese publishing company, specializing in art books.[2] The company was founded in 1891 in Kyoto, Japan by, and continues operations at its headquarters in Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto. Amongst other products, they produce hand carved and printed woodblock prints.[2]

Company name

, contains a combination of the kanji 芸艸, meaning Rue, and 堂, a suffix used to indicate a building. The use of rue in the name is due to its use in traditional Japanese bookmark production, as a way to deter pests from damaging books.[2] [3]

History

Founded in Kyoto Japan in 1891, a major part of early production at Unsodo was that of kimono pattern books. Traditional woodblock printing methods would be used, as well as more modern methods, such as collotype printing.[2]

Over time Unsodo acquired carved woodblocks from other publishers in Japan, and would use them to print under their own Unsodo imprint.[2] Unsodo is the only publisher of art books bound using a traditional method named .[4]

Unsodo have also commissioned and collaborate with 20th and 21st century artists to produce original carvings and prints, such as Shiro Kasamatsu,[5] Takeuchi Seihō[6] and Kamisaka Sekka.[7] With Seihō, they produced [8] between 1937 and 1942 which was described by Jack Hillier as "one of the most magnificent printing achievements of the twentieth century."[9] With Kasamatsu, they have produced in excess of 100 original Shin-hanga prints between 1898 and 1991,[6] which they continue print.

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Unsodo - Company profile . 16 September 2020 . Unsodo . Dec 14, 2023 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20230327191446/https://www.unsodo.net/en/companyprofile . 2023-03-27 .
  2. Web site: Unsōdō and the evolution of design book publishing in Japan . 16 September 2020 . British Library . Dec 13, 2023 . Teruko Hayamitsu. https://web.archive.org/web/20230531185139/https://blogs.bl.uk/asian-and-african/2020/09/uns%C5%8Dd%C5%8D-and-the-evolution-of-design-book-publishing-in-japan.html . 2023-05-31 .
  3. Web site: Unsodo Book Vault & Gallery . 1 January 2022 . Japan Travel . Dec 14, 2023 . Bonson Lam. http://web.archive.org/web/20231214010807/https://en.japantravel.com/kyoto/unsodo-book-vault-gallery/59605 . 2023-12-14 .
  4. Web site: UNSODO . Kyoto Gosyominami Teramachi Art Street . Dec 14, 2023 . . http://web.archive.org/web/20231214010827/http://www.teramachi-art.jp/en/shop-info/unsodo/ . 2023-12-14 .
  5. Book: Guide to Modern Japanese Woodblock Prints: 1900-1975. Merrit, Helen. Yamada, Nanako. University of Hawaii Press. 1995 . 54–55.
  6. Book: The Hotei Encyclopedia of Japanese Woodblock Prints . Hotei Publishing Company . 2005 . 501 . 9789074822657 . Amy Reigle Newland.
  7. Book: Birmingham Museum of Art . Birmingham Museum of Art: Guide to the Collection . GILES . 2010 . London, UK . 50 . 2011-06-09 . 978-1-904832-77-5 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110910171202/http://www.birminghammuseumstore.org/gutoco.html . 2011-09-10 .
  8. Book: 1937 . 栖鳳逸品集 . . Kyoto, Japan . . Seihō's Masterpieces . Japanese.
  9. Book: 14 September 2006 . Ehon: The Artist and the Book in Japan . 978-0295986241 . University of Washington Press . Roger S. Keyes.

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