Unsodo

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UNSODO Corporation
Native name
美術書出版株式会社芸艸堂
Founded1891; 133 years ago (1891)
Kyoto, Japan
FounderYamada Naosaburō
HeadquartersNakagyo-ku, Kyoto, Japan[1]
Products
Websitewww.unsodo.net

Unsodo (芸艸堂, Unsōdō) is a Japanese publishing company, specializing in art books.[2] The company was founded in 1891 in Kyoto, Japan by Yamada Naosaburō (山田直三郎), and continues operations at its headquarters in Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto. Amongst other products, they produce hand carved and printed woodblock prints.[2]

Company name[edit]

Unsodo (芸艸堂), contains a combination of the kanji 芸艸 (unsō), meaning Rue, and 堂 (dō), 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[edit]

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 tesuri mokuhanga (手摺木版画).[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 Seihō's Masterpieces (栖鳳逸品集, Seihō's Ippin Shū)[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[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Unsodo - Company profile". Unsodo. 16 September 2020. Archived from the original on 2023-03-27. Retrieved Dec 14, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e Teruko Hayamitsu (16 September 2020). "Unsōdō and the evolution of design book publishing in Japan". British Library. Archived from the original on 2023-05-31. Retrieved Dec 13, 2023.
  3. ^ Bonson Lam (1 January 2022). "Unsodo Book Vault & Gallery". Japan Travel. Archived from the original on 2023-12-14. Retrieved Dec 14, 2023.
  4. ^ "UNSODO". Kyoto Gosyominami Teramachi Art Street. Archived from the original on 2023-12-14. Retrieved Dec 14, 2023.
  5. ^ Merrit, Helen; Yamada, Nanako (1995). Guide to Modern Japanese Woodblock Prints: 1900-1975. University of Hawaii Press. pp. 54–55.
  6. ^ a b Amy Reigle Newland (2005). The Hotei Encyclopedia of Japanese Woodblock Prints. Hotei Publishing Company. p. 501. ISBN 9789074822657.
  7. ^ Birmingham Museum of Art (2010). Birmingham Museum of Art: Guide to the Collection. London, UK: GILES. p. 50. ISBN 978-1-904832-77-5. Archived from the original on 2011-09-10. Retrieved 2011-06-09.
  8. ^ 栖鳳逸品集 [Seihō's Masterpieces] (in Japanese). Kyoto, Japan: Unsodo (芸艸堂, Unsōdō). 1937. NCID BA44136047.
  9. ^ Roger S. Keyes (14 September 2006). Ehon: The Artist and the Book in Japan. University of Washington Press. ISBN 978-0295986241.


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