Japanese Woodblock Print Search | Hacker News Reader

Japanese Woodblock Print Search

ukiyo-e.org

207 pointscurmudgeon2232 comments

Thank you for sharing my site! I built this a number of years ago as I was starting to learn about Japanese prints. I wanted a single place where I could find them across all of the various museums and universities that hold them. I use computer vision analysis to cluster prints together (using TinEye). A bunch more technical details from the last time this was posted: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18344979

I’m working on a new site now that’s focused on prints that are for sale from dealers and auctions. Much more technically complex as it needs to be continuously updated. Hope to have a public beta soon!

Thank you for your work, it's an invaluable resource!

That is so cool!!! Thank you for putting in the effort

Thank you for creating such a wonderful site! Woodblock printing is one of my favorite art forms.

My grandparents visited Japan long ago and gifted me two wooden boxes, one with this print on the lid: https://ukiyo-e.org/image/aic/99027_512658 and the other with https://ukiyo-e.org/image/honolulu/8277. They're secret boxes with no hinges or hardware, but if you press on certain locations in the correct order, sections will slide and the lid unlocks and can be opened.

Is there a way to stay informed of when your new print site launches?

Oh that's very cool! I have a mailing list signup on the ukiyo-e.org home page, I'll send out a message there once it's ready for testing! I've posted some screenshots on Reddit that show some of the price comparison features: https://www.reddit.com/r/ukiyoe/comments/1p6c4lb/comment/nqp... https://www.reddit.com/r/ukiyoe/comments/1pjw8br/comment/nti...

Thanks, the screenshots look great. Subscribed!

Amazing resource - thank you for creating it!

We have "Red Gate in the Rain" by Kasamatsu Shiro [1] hanging in our home. I uploaded a photo of it and had a great time browsing other works by Shiro.

My wife also noted that we'll eventually inherit Shiro's "Snow Falling at Red Gate" [2], in the same series, from her aunt.

We've a couple other prints that I am going to search now... thanks again!

[1] https://ukiyo-e.org/image/artelino/30852g1

[2] https://ukiyo-e.org/image/jaodb/Kasamatsu_Shiro-No_Series-Sn...

Glad I was able to help, those are some great prints! fwiw, there is also an online catalog of Kasamatsu Shrio's prints and it looks like these are your prints there: https://shirokasamatsu.art/catalog/red-gate-in-the-rain/ https://shirokasamatsu.art/catalog/red-gate-in-the-snow/

Nice! I was able to find my Father-in-law’s prints, he’ll enjoy checking this out.

Wow 2 ukiyo-e threads in 24 hours. This is really cool.

I posted that there was a museum in kurashiki in the other thread but neglected to post a link. For anyone interested here it is https://ukiyo-e-kurashiki.jp/?lang=en

I was going to ask what the other thread was but you made it easy!

The Rediscovery of 103 Hokusai Lost Sketches (2021) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47030387 - Feb 2026 (8 comments)

Ah I should have posted the link. Glad you were able to find it and thanks for digging it up!

If you're interested in the topic someone is streaming the whole process: https://www.twitch.tv/japaneseprintmaking

Would highly recommend Dave Bull's YouTube channel as well - https://youtube.com/@seseragistudio

I took a class at his workshop in Tokyo and highly recommend the experience. So much thought and detail goes into preparing the wood blocks and even into "just" printing them.

One past thread:

Japanese Woodblock Print Search - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18344979 - Oct 2018 (29 comments)

(Reposts are fine after a year or so; links to past threads are just to satisfy extra-curious readers)

This is pretty amazing.

Surprisingly [0]:

> Ukiyo-e.org was created by John Resig ...

[0] https://ukiyo-e.org/about

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47107964

Wow, that's wonderful. There is a store that sells original Woodblock prints in Vienna, close to the Opera. Every time I'm passing by I take a few moments to look and reflect on those prints, it's great recognizing some on this website now.

I know exactly which store you're talking about, and I couldn't resist going in the one time I was in Vienna. It's a great store.

Pretty sure this was made by John Resig, the creator of jQuery.

I used to be friends with him back in the day and he described wanting to do something like this. He was/is a passionate dude.

Bookmarked for constant reference. As a designer, Japanese printmaking is a constant source of inspiration, and the effort that went into putting this together is pretty astounding. Thank you to the author for the hard work, and to the OP for surfacing it!

good job! I tried with a image of a Uniqlo t-shirt and it worked great

image: https://image.uniqlo.com/UQ/ST3/WesternCommon/imagesgoods/48...

result: https://ukiyo-e.org/upload/ac8aa7d9-d1c7-414d-b6d9-849371c88...

I was in tokyo for quite a while in my most formative years, i love thisss. I think TinEye usage is cool, but aren't there better CV models out there which would fit this use case? Just wondering.

Probably! I made this about 15 years ago - the technology is evolved a lot since then!

For those that don't know, this site was made by John Resig, yes, the same dude that invented jQuery.

kawase hasui is hands down the best to ever do it

he does trees and foliage in s very special way

Agreed, he is my favorite as well. There is something so cinematic about every one of his images.

No argument there.

For fans of California and the Bay Area, Tom Killion is a local hero as well.

Check out Chiura Obata. His Yosemite prints are stunning.

Lovely, thank you.

A fellow Shin Hanga-era fan! There are dozens of us!

Hasui is excellent, but Shiro Kasamatsu is my undisputed favorite. Something about the way he does buildings, and the dramatic colors, is exactly aimed at me.

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