09/27/2026
We have carved out some new space Tokaido Arts gallery for our collection of rare ehon. Ehon are “picture books” printed using woodblocks that contain illustrations and text covering a wide range of subjects including history, mythology, nature, and everyday life. Accessible to everyone during the Edo-period, many of the woodblock print artists from that time period were commissioned by publishers to create ehon alongside their nishiki-e, or woodblock prints.
One of the most celebrated and recognized collection of ehon is “Hokusai Manga,” produced by the great Katsushika Hokusai. Tokaido Arts has available two complete editions of this seminal work. Comprised of more than 4,000 images, the first 10 volumes of Hokusai Manga was originally issued from 1814-1819, followed by volumes 11 and 12, which were produced ca. 1820s. Volumes 13 and 14 were produced in 1849 following Hokusai’s death, and volume 15 in 1878. The subjects of Manga spanned the ordinary (e.g. tools) to nature and landscapes to the supernatural and to religion and history.
Available Tokaido Arts is a rare and complete set of Manga published posthumously ca. 1878 around the time of the publication of the 15th volume. Also available is the 1912 edition published by Kyoto publisher Unsodo, who acquired the blocks from the last publisher of Hokusai Manga, Katano Toshiro, and began restoring them. View the illustrated books Tokaido Arts online or come see our new display at our gallery in Japantown, San Francisco, which BTW is a work in progress!
