Category: Japan

Japanese Woodblock Prints

Posted on by Hijiri

I mentioned that I am participating letterpress swap (check out all the participants! – amazing) and I am brainstorming about my prints for a while now, still not 100% sure which direction I’m going with, but I thought I would share my inspirations here as I work on the prints. I hope it’d be fun for you to take journey with me here, too.

One of the ideas I have is to get inspiration from Japanese woodblock prints so I started gathering some images for possible print ideas and here they are. I always admire the beauty and craftsmanship of the Japanese woodblock arts, they are simply amazing.

Flowers are always nice. Trees and plants are another subjects I’m interested in making prints of.

Simple and beautiful. Love this.

Trees would make a great print, I think.

This is stunning.

P r e t t y.

Love big tree. The presence is always so nice.

I like this Komainu.

w o w, really pretty. This would make a great pattern print.

I’m so excited where this is going to go!! I love typography so I want to incorporate some type designs in the print, too… I’ll post more ideas soon!

KITEYA SOHO

Posted on by Hijiri

I was walking around SOHO after I got out of work last night and I saw this window…

How cute! I had to take photos and then of course I had to go into the store… to KITEYA. I have been passing by this store and I always thought it looked nice and always saw some traditional Japanese stuff, but never really went inside before, but I loved it there so much! They carry unique modern stuff from Kyoko, Japan, one of my favorite cities in Japan. The store is filled with Japanese beautiful patterns, fabrics, accessories to name a few. If you are in New York area and appreciate Japanese patterns and traditional arts, you will get a lot of inspiration here for sure.

Store sign:

(this image is from their website)

and I got the heart ornaments! Made with Japanese chirimen fabric. oh, they are having a nice holiday sale right now, too.

Kiteya Soho

464 Broome Street
New York, NY 10013

Tea Ceremony

Posted on by Hijiri

My mom and I went to have a bowl of Matcha when I was visiting Japan last time. You can enjoy tea ceremony without wearing kimono or knowing certain rules or anything at certain places in Japan. You can enjoy the tea and the sweets, of course, but you can also enjoy the beautiful ceramic bowl that they serve with. My mom told me that depending on the season, the bowl art would be different to celebrate the season, and here, it was back in June so you see hydrangeas (it’s the June flower in Japan). So pretty. Enjoy!

Japanese Street Signs

Posted on by Hijiri

I took a lot of street signs when I was in Japan last time because they look so cool. It’s a public graphic design. I’ve been meaning to post them together and here they are. For Friday morning inspirations: