Kidai Shoran (detail) © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Museum für Asiatische Kunst (Asian Art Museum, National Museums in Berlin), former collection of Hans-Joachim and Inge Küster, gift of Manfred Bohms 2002, photography: Tadao Kodaira

22The publisher Suharaya Ichibei

Suharaya was the first publisher of Japanese translations of Western books, and was a pioneer in publishing books in the field of “Dutch studies.” The Nihonbashi area had many respected bookstores and dealers in picture books and woodblock prints. Ibasen, still located in the Nihonbashi-kobunachō area today, was a publisher of ukiyo-e prints and produced many handheld uchiwa fans and folding fans with images of kabuki actors.

Ibasen