The Quick Pictorial Dictionary (Ehon hayabiki 画本早引) : [volume 1]

Katsushika, Hokusai, 1760-1849 · 1817 · Edo: [Tan]sendo 丼泉堂 · 25 pictures

The Quick Pictorial Dictionary (Ehon hayabiki) is a Japanese illustrated reference volume by Katsushika Hokusai, published in Edo in 1817 by the Tansendo publishing house for general readers wanting quick visual lookups. Its double-page spreads are packed with small woodblock-printed figures, each captioned with Japanese characters and set in a loose grid of actions, poses, and everyday scenes. A designer can take from it the economy of quick ink line, the repeated figure studies of gesture and movement, and a model for arranging many small vignettes on one page.

Thomas J. Watson Library, The Metropolitan Museum of Art · No known copyright restrictions · More from this library