Rankafu : Orchid Print Album - Stephen Kirby

Rankafu

Orchid Print Album

By: Stephen Kirby, Toshikazu Doi, Toru Otsuka

Hardcover | 11 June 2019

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Hardcover


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Rankafu showcases for the first time an exceptional set of orchid woodblock prints from early 20th century Japan.

Considered masterworks of botanical art, the Rankafu prints are visually stunning and reproduced here in full colour, showcasing the fine details of this spectacular art form. Accompanying these stunning prints, the authors tell the story of Shotaro Kaga, a pioneering horticulturist whose orchid collection and breeding programme started a craze in Japan that continues to this day.

Kaga and his gifted orchid gardener, Kenkichi Goto were highly skilled orchid growers and developed hundreds of spectacular orchid hybrids. Kaga’s interest in orchids was sparked by his visit to Kew in 1910 where he first saw tropical orchids in the extensive greenhouses, and visited many famous orchid nurseries such as Sander & Sons, from whom he would buy hundreds of plants over the coming decades.

This book is the most comprehensive work to date on Rankafu and is unrivalled in its breadth of information and research. It is a beautiful book that will appeal to orchid fanatics and lovers of botanical art, as well as those with an interest in 20th century Japan and the artistic process of making Japanese woodblock prints.

About the Authors

Stephen H. Kirby is a geophysicist at the United States Geological Society. He also lectures and does research at Tohoku University in Sendai, Japan, and the University College, London.

Toshikazu Doi is a retired executive in the Pharmaceutical Division of the Kirin Beer Company. He is a member of the Mokuhankan woodblock print shop team whose mission is to help sustain the art and practice of woodblock printing.

Toru Otsuka is a retired researcher, writer, and journalist who worked for NHK Broadcasting Company in Tokyo and Osaka
Industry Reviews
"Rankafu is a remarkable book, which tells the story of a remarkable set of Japanese orchid woodblock prints from the early 20th century, and through them the story of three remarkable men."-- "Lankesteriana"

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