Refine your search

The results of your search are listed below alongside the search terms you entered on the previous page. You can refine your search by amending any of the parameters in the form and resubmitting it.

Select all Deselect all Add selection to lightbox
Large Small
Thumbnails per page
Japan: 'Portrait of Three Actors: Ichikawa Komazo II, Sakata Hangoro III and Nakayama Fukasaburo I'. Ukiyo-e woodblock print by Katsukawa Shun'ei (1762-1819), 1794.<br/><br/> Katsukawa Shun'ei (1762 - 13 December 1819), real name Isoda Shun'ei, was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist from Tokyo. He joined the Katsukawa school of ukiyo-e artists, and mainly designed <i>yakusha-e kabuki</i> portraits, though he also dabbled in <i>musha-e</i> warrior prints and prints of sumo wrestlers. He became head of the Katsukawa school in 1800.
Japan: 'Shelter from the Rain, Encounters on the Road at New Year, No. 6: Actors Ichikawa Kodanji IV, Iwai Kumesaburo III, Bando Hikosaburo IV'. Part of triptych print by Utagawa Kunisada I (1786-1865), 1855. Utagawa Kunisada, also known as Utagawa Toyokuni III, was the most popular, prolific and financially successful designer of <i>ukiyo-e</i> woodblock prints in 19th-century Japan. In his own time, his reputation far exceeded that of his contemporaries, Hokusai, Hiroshige and Kuniyoshi. His favourite subjects were pleasure-houses and tea ceremonies.
Japan: 'Shelter from the Rain, Encounters on the Road at New Year, No. 5: Actors Arashi Kichisaburo III, Asao Okuyama III, Ichikawa Hirogoro I, Nakamura Daikichi III'. Part of triptych print by Utagawa Kunisada I (1786-1865), 1855. Utagawa Kunisada, also known as Utagawa Toyokuni III, was the most popular, prolific and financially successful designer of <i>ukiyo-e</i> woodblock prints in 19th-century Japan. In his own time, his reputation far exceeded that of his contemporaries, Hokusai, Hiroshige and Kuniyoshi. His favourite subjects were pleasure-houses and tea ceremonies.
Japan: 'Shelter from the Rain, Encounters on the Road at New Year, No. 4: Actors Sawamura Tossho II, Nakamura Tsuruzo I, Kawarazaki Gonjuro I'. Part of triptych print by Utagawa Kunisada I (1786-1865), 1855. Utagawa Kunisada, also known as Utagawa Toyokuni III, was the most popular, prolific and financially successful designer of <i>ukiyo-e</i> woodblock prints in 19th-century Japan. In his own time, his reputation far exceeded that of his contemporaries, Hokusai, Hiroshige and Kuniyoshi. His favourite subjects were pleasure-houses and tea ceremonies.
Shunbaisai Hokuei (d. 1837), also known as Shunko III, was a designer of ukiyo-e style Japanese woodblock prints in Osaka, and was active from about 1824 to 1837. He was a student of Shunkosai Hokushu. Hokuei’s prints most often portray the kabuki actor Arashi Rikan II.
From 1861 to 1890 the Munich publishing firm of Braun and Schneider published plates of historic and contemporary costume in their magazine Munchener Bilderbogen.<br/><br/> These plates were eventually collected in book form and published at the turn of the century in Germany and England.
Utagawa Yoshitaki ( April 13, 1841 – June 28, 1899), also known as Ichiyosai Yoshitaki, was a designer of ukiyo-e style Japanese woodblock prints. He was active in both Edo (Tokyo) and Osaka and was also a painter and newspaper illustrator.<br/><br/> Yoshitaki was a student of Utagawa Yoshiume (1819–1879). He became the most prolific designer of woodblock prints in Osaka from the 1860s to the 1880s, producing more than 1,200 different prints, almost all of kabuki actors.
Utagawa Kunisada (also known as Utagawa Toyokuni III) was the most popular, prolific and financially successful designer of ukiyo-e woodblock prints in 19th-century Japan.<br/><br/> In his own time, his reputation far exceeded that of his contemporaries, Hokusai, Hiroshige and Kuniyoshi.
From 1861 to 1890 the Munich publishing firm of Braun and Schneider published plates of historic and contemporary costume in their magazine Munchener Bilderbogen.<br/><br/> These plates were eventually collected in book form and published at the turn of the century in Germany and England.
Yukio Mishima is the pen name of Kimitake Hiraoka (January 14, 1925 – November 25, 1970), a Japanese author, poet, playwright, actor, and film director. Mishima is considered one of the most important Japanese authors of the 20th century; he was nominated three times for the Nobel Prize in Literature and was poised to win the prize in 1968 but lost the award to his fellow countryman Yasunari Kawabata.<br/><br/> His avant-garde work displayed a blending of modern and traditional aesthetics that broke cultural boundaries, with a focus on sexuality, death, and political change. He is remembered for his ritual suicide by seppuku after a failed coup d'etat attempt, known as the 'Mishima Incident'.
From 1861 to 1890 the Munich publishing firm of Braun and Schneider published plates of historic and contemporary costume in their magazine Munchener Bilderbogen.<br/><br/> These plates were eventually collected in book form and published at the turn of the century in Germany and England.
Utagawa Kunisada (also known as Utagawa Toyokuni III) was the most popular, prolific and financially successful designer of ukiyo-e woodblock prints in 19th-century Japan.<br/><br/> In his own time, his reputation far exceeded that of his contemporaries, Hokusai, Hiroshige and Kuniyoshi.
Yukio Mishima is the pen name of Kimitake Hiraoka (January 14, 1925 – November 25, 1970), a Japanese author, poet, playwright, actor, and film director. Mishima is considered one of the most important Japanese authors of the 20th century; he was nominated three times for the Nobel Prize in Literature and was poised to win the prize in 1968 but lost the award to his fellow countryman Yasunari Kawabata.<br/><br/> His avant-garde work displayed a blending of modern and traditional aesthetics that broke cultural boundaries, with a focus on sexuality, death, and political change. He is remembered for his ritual suicide by seppuku after a failed coup d'etat attempt, known as the 'Mishima Incident'.
Utagawa Kuniyoshi (January 1, 1798 - April 14, 1861) was one of the last great masters of the Japanese ukiyo-e style of woodblock prints and painting. He is associated with the Utagawa school.<br/><br/> The range of Kuniyoshi's preferred subjects included many genres: landscapes, beautiful women, Kabuki actors, cats, and mythical animals. He is known for depictions of the battles of samurai and legendary heroes. His artwork was affected by Western influences in landscape painting and caricature.
John Thomson (14 June 1837 – 29 September 1921) was a pioneering Scottish photographer, geographer and traveller. He was one of the first photographers to travel to the Far East, documenting the people, landscapes and artifacts of eastern cultures.<br/><br/> Thomson's travels in China were often perilous, as he visited remote, almost unpopulated regions far inland. Most of the people he encountered had never seen a Westerner or camera before. His expeditions were also especially challenging because he had to transport his bulky wooden camera, many large, fragile glass plates, and potentially explosive chemicals. He photographed in a wide variety of conditions and often had to improvise because chemicals were difficult to acquire. His subject matter varied enormously: from humble beggars and street people to Mandarins, Princes and senior government officials; from remote monasteries to Imperial Palaces; from simple rural villages to magnificent landscapes.
Yukio Mishima is the pen name of Kimitake Hiraoka (January 14, 1925 – November 25, 1970), a Japanese author, poet, playwright, actor, and film director. Mishima is considered one of the most important Japanese authors of the 20th century; he was nominated three times for the Nobel Prize in Literature and was poised to win the prize in 1968 but lost the award to his fellow countryman Yasunari Kawabata.<br/><br/> His avant-garde work displayed a blending of modern and traditional aesthetics that broke cultural boundaries, with a focus on sexuality, death, and political change. He is remembered for his ritual suicide by seppuku after a failed coup d'etat attempt, known as the 'Mishima Incident'.
Utagawa Kunisada (also known as Utagawa Toyokuni III) was the most popular, prolific and financially successful designer of ukiyo-e woodblock prints in 19th-century Japan.<br/><br/> In his own time, his reputation far exceeded that of his contemporaries, Hokusai, Hiroshige and Kuniyoshi.
The 8888 Nationwide Popular Pro-Democracy Protests (also known as the People Power Uprising) were a series of marches, demonstrations, protests, and riots in the Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma (today commonly known as Burma or Myanmar). Key events occurred on 8 August 1988, and therefore it is known as the 8888 Uprising.
Tōshūsai Sharaku (東洲斎 写楽, active 1794 - 1795) is widely considered to be one of the great masters of woodblock printing in Japan. Little is known of him, besides his ukiyo-e prints; neither his true name nor the dates of his birth or death are known with any certainty. His active career as a woodblock artist seems to have spanned just ten months in the mid-Edo period of Japanese history, from the middle of 1794 to early 1795.
The British conquest of Burma began in 1824 in response to a Burmese attempt to invade India. By 1886, and after two further wars, Britain had incorporated the entire country into the British Raj. To stimulate trade and facilitate changes, the British brought in Indians and Chinese, who quickly displaced the Burmese in urban areas. To this day Rangoon and Mandalay have large ethnic Indian populations. Railways and schools were built, as well as a large number of prisons, including the infamous Insein Prison, then as now used for political prisoners.<br/><br/> Burmese resentment was strong and was vented in violent riots that paralysed Rangoon on occasion all the way until the 1930s. Burma was administered as a province of British India until 1937 when it became a separate, self-governing colony. Burma finally gained independence from Britain on January 4, 1948.
Samurai is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. By the end of the 12th century, samurai became almost entirely synonymous with bushi, and the word was closely associated with the middle and upper echelons of the warrior class.<br/><br/> The samurai followed a set of rules that came to be known as Bushidō. While they numbered less than ten percent of Japan's population, samurai teachings can still be found today in both everyday life and in martial arts such as Kendō, meaning the way of the sword.
Samurai is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. By the end of the 12th century, samurai became almost entirely synonymous with bushi, and the word was closely associated with the middle and upper echelons of the warrior class.<br/><br/> The samurai followed a set of rules that came to be known as Bushidō. While they numbered less than ten percent of Japan's population, samurai teachings can still be found today in both everyday life and in martial arts such as Kendō, meaning the way of the sword.
Samurai is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. By the end of the 12th century, samurai became almost entirely synonymous with bushi, and the word was closely associated with the middle and upper echelons of the warrior class.<br/><br/> The samurai followed a set of rules that came to be known as Bushidō. While they numbered less than ten percent of Japan's population, samurai teachings can still be found today in both everyday life and in martial arts such as Kendō, meaning the way of the sword.
Utagawa Kuniyoshi (歌川 国芳, January 1, 1797 - April 14, 1862) was one of the last great masters of the Japanese ukiyo-e style of woodblock prints and painting. He is associated with the Utagawa school.<br/><br/> The range of Kuniyoshi's preferred subjects included many genres: landscapes, beautiful women, Kabuki actors, cats, and mythical animals. He is known for depictions of the battles of samurai and legendary heroes. His artwork was affected by Western influences in landscape painting and caricature.
Memorial prints, also called 'death prints' and 'shini-e' commemorated the death of actors, artists and musicians, but the vast majority commemorated kabuki actors. They typically portray the recently deceased actor in light blue robes (shini sôzoku), and often include such information as the date of death, age, posthumous Buddhist name (kaimyô), and place of burial. The largest production of memorial prints followed the suicide of Ichikawa Danjûrô VIII on August 8, 1854. Many memorial prints are unsigned, and were produced by artists of very modest talent in response to a large demand from the deceased actor’s fans.
Samurai is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. By the end of the 12th century, samurai became almost entirely synonymous with bushi, and the word was closely associated with the middle and upper echelons of the warrior class.<br/><br/> The samurai followed a set of rules that came to be known as Bushidō. While they numbered less than ten percent of Japan's population, samurai teachings can still be found today in both everyday life and in martial arts such as Kendō, meaning the way of the sword.
The Siamese were avid theatre-goers at the turn of the 20th century and mime, dance, plays and shadow puppetry were all very popular. Many of the stage plays involved dancers, mostly female, who adorned themselves in jewellery and exhibited lithe movements portraying beauty and flexibility, especially in bending the fingers back. The most common plays were called ‘khon’, which essentially feature scenes from the ‘Ramakien’, the Thai version of the Hindu epic ‘The Ramayana’.
The Siamese were avid theatre-goers at the turn of the 20th century. Mime, dance, plays and shadow puppetry were all very popular. Many of the stage plays involved dancers, mostly female, who adorned themselves in jewellery and exhibited lithe movements portraying beauty and flexibility, especially in bending the fingers back. The most common plays were called ‘khon’, which essentially feature scenes from the ‘Ramakien’, the Thai version of the Hindu epic ‘The Ramayana’.
The Siamese were avid theatre-goers at the turn of the 20th century. Mime, dance, plays and shadow puppetry were all very popular. Many of the stage plays involved dancers, mostly female, who adorned themselves in jewellery and exhibited lithe movements portraying beauty and flexibility, especially in bending the fingers back. The most common plays were called ‘khon’, which essentially feature scenes from the ‘Ramakien’, the Thai version of the Hindu epic ‘The Ramayana’.
The Siamese were avid theatre-goers at the turn of the 20th century. Mime, dance, plays and shadow puppetry were all very popular. Many of the stage plays involved dancers, mostly female, who adorned themselves in jewellery and exhibited lithe movements portraying beauty and flexibility, especially in bending the fingers back. The most common plays were called ‘khon’, which essentially feature scenes from the ‘Ramakien’, the Thai version of the Hindu epic ‘The Ramayana’.
The Siamese were avid theatre-goers at the turn of the 20th century. Mime, dance, plays and shadow puppetry were all very popular. Many of the stage plays involved dancers, mostly female, who adorned themselves in jewellery and exhibited lithe movements portraying beauty and flexibility, especially in bending the fingers back. The most common plays were called ‘khon’, which essentially feature scenes from the ‘Ramakien’, the Thai version of the Hindu epic ‘The Ramayana’.
The Siamese were avid theatre-goers at the turn of the 20th century. Mime, dance, plays and shadow puppetry were all very popular. Many of the stage plays involved dancers, mostly female, who adorned themselves in jewellery and exhibited lithe movements portraying beauty and flexibility, especially in bending the fingers back. The most common plays were called ‘khon’, which essentially feature scenes from the ‘Ramakien’, the Thai version of the Hindu epic ‘The Ramayana’.
The Siamese were avid theatre-goers at the turn of the 20th century. Mime, dance, plays and shadow puppetry were all very popular. Many of the stage plays involved dancers, mostly female, who adorned themselves in jewellery and exhibited lithe movements portraying beauty and flexibility, especially in bending the fingers back. The most common plays were called ‘khon’, which essentially feature scenes from the ‘Ramakien’, the Thai version of the Hindu epic ‘The Ramayana’.
The Siamese were avid theatre-goers at the turn of the 20th century. Mime, dance, plays and shadow puppetry were all very popular. Many of the stage plays involved dancers, mostly female, who adorned themselves in jewellery and exhibited lithe movements portraying beauty and flexibility, especially in bending the fingers back. The most common plays were called ‘khon’, which essentially feature scenes from the ‘Ramakien’, the Thai version of the Hindu epic ‘The Ramayana’.
The Siamese were avid theatre-goers at the turn of the 20th century. Mime, dance, plays and shadow puppetry were all very popular. Many of the stage plays involved dancers, mostly female, who adorned themselves in jewellery and exhibited lithe movements portraying beauty and flexibility, especially in bending the fingers back. The most common plays were called ‘khon’, which essentially feature scenes from the ‘Ramakien’, the Thai version of the Hindu epic ‘The Ramayana’.
The Siamese were avid theatre-goers at the turn of the 20th century. Mime, dance, plays and shadow puppetry were all very popular. Many of the stage plays involved dancers, mostly female, who adorned themselves in jewellery and exhibited lithe movements portraying beauty and flexibility, especially in bending the fingers back. The most common plays were called ‘khon’, which essentially feature scenes from the ‘Ramakien’, the Thai version of the Hindu epic ‘The Ramayana’.
International attention to Shanghai grew in the 19th century due to its economic and trade potential at the Yangtze River. During the First Opium War (1839–1842), British forces temporarily held the city. The war ended with the 1842 Treaty of Nanjing, opening Shanghai and other ports to international trade.<br/><br/> In 1863, the British settlement, located to the south of Suzhou creek (Huangpu district), and the American settlement, to the north of Suzhou creek (Hongkou district), joined in order to form the International Settlement. The French opted out of the Shanghai Municipal Council, and maintained its own French Concession. Citizens of many countries and all continents came to Shanghai to live and work during the ensuing decades; those who stayed for long periods called themselves 'Shanghailanders'.<br/><br/> In the 1920s and 30s, some 20,000 so-called White Russians and Russian Jews fled the newly established Soviet Union and took up residence in Shanghai. By 1932, Shanghai had become the world's fifth largest city and home to 70,000 foreigners.
In mid Imperial China, characters in theatrical performances wore elaborate costumes and stereotyped facial makeup, shown here in a large Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368 AD) mural in a hall of the Guangsheng Temple in Hongtong, Shanxi province.