[Free Woodblock Print] The Adachi Foundation for the Preservation of Woodcut Printing — Why Its Great-Value Supporting Membership Is Worth Joining

Adachi Foundation for the Preservation of Woodcut Printing

The “Adachi Foundation for the Preservation of Woodcut Printing” (hereafter “Adachi Hanga”) — do you know this organization?

Beginning with ukiyo-e, for Japan’s traditional woodblock printing, to train its successors — with this clear mission, the organization drives various activities and initiatives. Its main activities are as follows:

1. Supervising reproduction ukiyo-e prints
2. Supervising the production of contemporary woodblock prints
3. Granting incentive funds to researchers in five fields: research, technique, painting, materials, and public relations
4. Conducting training to develop successors
5. Educational activities at home and abroad, such as technique demonstrations and woodblock-printing classes
6. Displaying prints at its permanent exhibition space (Mejiro, Tokyo)
7. Running the open-call “Adachi UKIYOE Grand Prize,” aimed at “discovering 21st-century ukiyo-e artists”

Supporting Membership

One of Adachi Hanga’s initiatives is a “supporting membership system.”
This is a membership organization that supports the various activities Adachi Hanga undertakes, backed by individuals and companies who understand the training of woodblock-print successors.

The annual fee is ¥20,000 per unit for individual members、¥100,000 per unit for corporate members, running for one year from the month you join to the end of the same month the following year.
And the member benefit is wonderful: you can receive one “woodblock print” printed by Adachi Hanga for each unit.

The 2018 (Heisei 30) list of gift works (PDF) is hereThe gift works are not framed, so you may optionally either pay an additional ¥10,000 to have it framed, or frame it yourself however you like.

What Actually Arrived

Let me introduce the work that was actually shipped to me. *Adachi Hanga covers the shipping.
Since I frame at a shop I know, I ordered only the sheet, but the carrier was Sagawa Express and the packaging felt a bit precarious (it arrived safely, though).

What I chose was “Gap in the City” by Tetsuro Imai, winner of the 8th UKIYOE Grand Prize.
The making-of is described in detail on Adachi Hanga’s website, so please take a look.

Reflecting Adachi Hanga’s guiding principle of developing successors, the gift prints are handled by young carvers and printers.
For this Tetsuro Imai work, the carver was Hiromi Nakazawa and the printer was Saki Yamada.

The works change from year to year.
Beyond past masterpieces by the likes of Katsushika Hokusai and Utagawa Hiroshige, the list ranges widely, including collaborations with contemporary artists.

Incidentally, the washi paper used as the support for Adachi Hanga’s works is said to be almost 100% “Echizen washi.”
Prints made on “Echizen washi,” arguably the top brand among washi papers, have a wonderfully fine texture.

These are works given for an annual fee of ¥20,000, but depending on the contemporary artist, the price can be quite a bargain.

It’s a great-value scheme: you become a member who helps carry on the culture, and on top of that you receive a print work.
Why not take the work list in hand and consider joining as a supporting member?

Adachi Institute of Woodcut Prints

The gift works are displayed in the showroom, so you can check them with your own eyes.
Isn’t it also a facility where you can feel satisfied even if you visit purely to enjoy prints?

For all of you reading this article, too — why not consider joining as a supporting member?

Details

Adachi Institute of Woodcut Prints — Permanent Exhibition SpaceAddress
161-0033 3-13-17 Shimo-Ochiai, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo
Phone
03-3951-1267
FAX
03-3951-2137
Hours: Tue–Fri 10:00–18:00 / Sat & Sun 10:00–17:00 / Closed Mondays and public holidays
Access: 1) 10-min walk from “Mejiro Station” on the JR Yamanote Line
2) 3-min walk from the “Shimo-Ochiai 3-chome” stop on Toei Bus route Haku-61 (Nerima Shako-mae – Shinjuku Sta. West Exit)
*Parking available (one space)