Ehon (woodblock-printed illustrated books) were hugely popular during the 17th-19th centuries, and they played an important role in Japanese culture and society. It was common for well-known Japanese artists to design illustrated books. However, ehon are not as widely known about because they are not displayed in museums as frequently as prints or paintings, and they tend to be overlooked or underrated in comparison.

In this talk, Dr Louise Boyd will discuss her Art Fund New Collecting Award project on ehon and why acquiring them is beneficial for the National Museum of Scotland, its audiences and her own research. She will introduce a variety of volumes acquired as part of the project. Some of the books include shunga (sexually explicit or erotic images), a genre which has been the subject of censorship, which she will broach in relation to her PhD research on the collecting and display of shunga.

Louise Boyd is the curator for the Japanese and Ainu collections at the National Museum of Scotland, where she has worked since 2017. She holds an undergraduate Masters’ and PhD in History of Art from the University of Glasgow, and a postgraduate Masters’ in Japanese Art History from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. For more information, including her publications and research interests, see https://www.nms.ac.uk/profile/dr-louise-boyd.

If you have any questions, please call The Japan Society office on 020 3075 1996 or email events@japansociety.org.uk.

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