http://www.loc.gov/mods/v3 http://www.loc.gov/standards/mods/v3/mods-3-2.xsd
orchid print album : masterpieces of Japanese woodblock prints of orchids
x, 289 pages : color illustrations ; 26 cm.
This book tells the story of banker Shotaro Kaga and orchid grower Kenkichi Goto whose pioneering orchid breeding program in the early 20th century started a horticultural craze in Japan that continues to this day. To illustrate the beauty of his plants Kaga turned to gifted watercolourist Zuigetsu Ikeda and many talented woodblock artisans to create a stunning artistic legacy. First published in 1946, this print collection was titled Rankafu (Orchid Print Album). The Rankafu prints are now considered masterworks of botanical art. Published here in English for the first time is a book that includes a complete set of the exceptional 83 woodblock prints, reproduced in full color, illustrating the fine details achieved by this spectacular art form. Accompanying the prints are reproductions of sixty original orchid watercolors by Zuigetsu Ikeda and a foreword by Phillip Cribb, leading specialist on the taxonomy and conservation of orchids.
Foreword / Phillip Cribb -- Introduction : aims of the book and an overview of the story behind the prints -- Shotaro Kaga : an early life close to nature -- Shotaro Kaga's life-altering foreign travels -- Building the Oyamazaki Villa and orchid greenhouses, and learning to grow, flower, and hybridise orchids by trial and error (1911-1932) -- Bringing art to the Villa : Zuigetsu Ikeda is hired and trained as resident artist, producing hundreds of watercolour paintings of orchids grown and flowered at the Villa -- Woodblock printing and the production of the Rankafu print set -- The Rankafu prints : a summary of the prints with updated orchid species and hybrid names -- A post-war postscript : the end of an era by 1967 and the Zuigetsu Ikeda watercolours revealed in 1995 -- A 21st-century postscript : the remarkable discovery of twelve sets of surviving Rankafu woodblocks, the just-in-time Rankafu reprinting, and an end of an artistic era.
Stephen Kirby, Toshikazu Doi, Toru Otsuka.