Takahashi Kobo, a 160 year old ukiyo-e woodblock print workshop in Tokyo, has been working with rare woodblocks used in an early reproduction of the series "One Hundred Aspects of the Moon" by TSUKIOKA Yoshitoshi (1839-1892), as part of their ongoing efforts to preserve traditional techniques of ukiyo-e printing. The restoration process has uncovered techniques used that are not immediately obvious upon viewing the printed works.

In this online event TAKAHASHI Yukiko of Takahashi Kobo will be in conversation with Dr Alfred Haft, Curator in the Department of Asia at the British Museum, to explore the significance of preserving the techniques used in the works of Yoshitoshi. The event will begin discussing the works of Yoshitoshi, whose career spanned a period in which woodblock gradually gave way to new forms of print technology such as lithography – a result of the opening of the country in the Meiji period. The restoration and printing process will be then be demonstrated, and prints from “One Hundred Aspects of the Moon” will be examined in detail, casting light on their importance as artworks, and in so doing revealing why Yoshitoshi is known as one of the last great ukiyo-e artists.

About the contributors

TAKAHASHI Yukiko (6th Generation Head @Takahashi Kobo)
TAKAHASHI Yukiko is the 6th Generation head of Takahashi Kobo, which was founded 160 years ago in the Ansei Era. The workshop has been producing traditional woodblock prints using methods unchanged since the company was founded. In their Tokyo based workshop the company produces faithful reproductions of ukiyo-e, contemporary artworks alongside researching and preserving the techniques of woodblock printing.

Alfred Haft ( Curator in the Department of Asia @British Museum)
Alfred Haft is a curator in the Department of Asia at the British Museum. He has published on various aspects of Japanese prints and print history, including ‘Hokusai and Tokugawa Society’, in Timothy Clark, ed., 'Hokusai: Beyond the Great Wave' and 'Aesthetic Strategies of the Floating World: Mitate, Yatsushi and Fūryū in Early Modern Japanese Popular Culture'. He holds a PHD in Art and Archaeology from SOAS, University of London.

To book a place for this online event, visit the registration page.