One of Australia鈥檚 most significant collections of Japanese art鈥攚oodblock prints known as kuchi-e鈥�will go on show for the first time in a new exhibition at the National Library of Australia, 鈥�.
Used to illustrate Japanese novels, kuchi-e (鈥榦pening picture鈥�), complement the stories which reflect the tumultuous world of the Meiji period in Japan, from 1868鈥�1912.
Exhibition curator Dr Gary Hickey said the Meiji period was a time of great upheaval in Japan with the transition of the country from a feudal society to an emerging western-style state.
鈥楾his upheaval was reflected in a dramatic change in people鈥檚 lives,鈥� Dr Hickey said. 鈥業nfluenced by the West, this change was reflected in new literary forms and innovative means of reproducing images for published works.
鈥楶rominent in this period were literary frontispieces known as kuchi-e,鈥� he said. 鈥楢rtists used the medium of the traditional multicolour woodblock print in images to illustrate stories that stressed the melodramatic.鈥�
Dr Hickey has drawn on the substantial collection of kuchi-e donated to the National Library by UNSW emeritus professor Richard Clough from 2010 until his death in 2014.
鈥楾his collection, along with other works acquired by the Library, forms one of the most significant collections of this genre in the world and the largest focused collection of Japanese art in Australia,鈥� Dr Hickey said.
鈥楾he exhibition features more than 20 artists and a range of subjects鈥攁ll filled with drama, tragedy and intrigue鈥攚hich reflected the Meiji times.鈥�
Melodrama in Meiji Japan is on show at the NLA, Canberra, from 24 May 2017 to 27 August, 2017. Open daily 10am鈥�5pm. Free.