Yamada Nanako Kuchi-e Collection in Woodblock Prints & Monographs

YAMADA Nanako Kuchi-e Collection in Woodblock Prints & Monographs

As a longtime collaborator with Helen Merritt, a Japanese art scholar at Northern Illinois University, Nanako Yamada developed her passion and expertise in the artworks of Kuchi-e woodblock prints, created during the Meiji and Taishō eras in Japan. For her research, she collected more than 200 prints and dozens of monographs that originally contained these prints.

In spring 2024, UH Hamilton Library proudly received her entire collection for further research and education in art and literary disciplines on campus. In accordance with Yamada’s request to study Kuchi-e prints as an integral part of literature in early 20th century Japan, this project aims to explore available resources and include as much information as possible about the stories these kuchi-e prints were initially associated with. All metadata is provided in both Japanese and English, including synopses that describe each work.  

Digitization Procedures

Project Leader: Mitsutaka Nakamura, Japan Studies Librarian
Project Members: Shinya Sawatari, Shion Sasaki, Hiroko Saito (student assistant) & Ryan Cook (MLIS intern)
Cataloging (monographs): Sachiyo Kawai‘ae‘a & Kaori Tones
Digitization: Alisa Kwok (IT specialist) & student assistants
Advisors: Stanislava Gardasevic (Metadata), & Daniel Ishimitsu (Omeka)
Scanner: Phase One iXH 150MP with a 72mm Mk II lens
Scanning specs: 600ppi, 16-bit TIFF. No manipulation of original photo images.
Metadata: The Dublin Core standard was used, with subjects created in-house specifically for the prints.
Integrity: Reference numbers are assigned based on the artist's birth year for the woodblock print. 


This project was made possible by general funding from the Karl Lo Award from the Pacific Rim Research Libraries Alliance.

References

Yamada, Nanako. 2016. Mokuhan kuchie sōran = A Survey of Woodblock Kuchi-e Prints. Tōkyō: Bunsei Shoin.

Yamada, Nanako. 2006. Kuchie meisaku monogatari shū = Masterpieces: Collection of Kuchi-e Prints and Their Stories. Tōkyō: Bunsei Shoin.

National Diet Library (Japan). 2025. “National Diet Library Digital Collections.” Accessed October 10, 2025. https://dl.ndl.go.jp/en/

JapanKnowledge. 2008. Bungei Kurabu: Meiji-hen. Edited by The Museum of Modern Japanese Literature. Yagi Shoten. Accessed October 10, 2025. https://japanknowledge.com/en/contents/bungeikurabu/