Introduction

Rimpa is a school of arts and crafts in Japan. The bold designs of Rimpa school artists have strong decorative appeal and are well known both in Japan and around the world. For example, the back of the 5,000 yen bill depicts Kakitsubatazu by OGATA Korin, one of the most famous painters and craftsmen of the Rimpa school.
The Rimpa school has been passed down at different times and different places through a unique style, "shishuku," in which the student learns on their own, following the model of a master. 2015 marks the 400th anniversary of the establishment of an artistic community at Takagamine, Kyoto by HON'AMI Koetsu, one of the founders of the Rimpa school. Although the Rimpa school is often associated with gorgeous gold folding screens, and books seem unrelated to it, there are some books that were indispensable to the transmission and development of this school.
This exhibition is intended to introduce these books and provide some unique insights that only a librarian would have into this subject matter.

  • These high-definition images are available in the National Diet Library Digital Collections. Those that are labelled NDL Digital Collections can be viewed via the Internet on any computer. Those labelled Restricted access can only be viewed on computer terminals at the NDL or an affiliated library, or via the Digitized Contents Transmission Service for Individuals. For more information, please refer to the webpages for the Digitized Contents Transmission Service for Libraries and Digitized Contents Transmission Service for Individuals.
  • A string in square brackets is a NDL Call Number.
  • The original Japanese-language article first appeared in November 2015 as part of Small Electronic Exhibitions Kaleidoscope of Books, No. 33. Please note that the descriptions herein are based on information that was current at that time.

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Forms that were created by the Rimpa school
and passed on through books

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