SAN FRANCISCO — Spanning two pivotal eras of social and political change in Japan, Japanese Prints in Transition traces the artistic development of 18th-century ukiyo-e (or “floating world pictures”) to the brightly colored woodblock prints of the imperial Meiji era, following the ouster of the shogun in 1868. These new prints and their Western-inflected imagery reflected a program of rapid modernization and increased interactions with other nations. Drawn entirely from the holdings of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco’s Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts — one of the most significant museum collections of Japanese prints in the United States — the exhibition now on display brings together nearly 150 works, presenting the rich history and wide breadth of the medium.
“Japanese Prints in Transition offers visitors a singular opportunity to explore influential Japanese printmaking traditions, from iconic ukiyo-e to the less widely known prints of the late 19th-century Meiji era,” noted Thomas P. Campbell, director and CEO of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. “We are proud to steward a significant collection of Japanese prints in our Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts and we are delighted to share these treasures with our audiences at the Legion of Honor in a presentation that will speak to a period of profound change in Japan, during which shifts in printmaking practice closely reflected the country's dramatic transition from isolationist polic.