Readings | A World of Edo Art

Thumbnail of From the Preface to <em>Gifts of the Crows</em>, PDF — From the Preface to *Gifts of the Crows*

From Egrets and Crows →

Thumbnail of Excerpts from the Introduction to <em>The Genius of Birds</em>, PDF — Excerpts from the Introduction to *The Genius of Birds*

From Pair of Hawks with Branch and Blossoms →

Thumbnail of Excerpt from the Preface of <em>What an Owl Knows</em>, PDF — Excerpt from the Preface of *What an Owl Knows*

From Rooster and Family →

Thumbnail of Excerpt from “Talent, Training, and Power”, PDF — Excerpt from “Talent, Training, and Power”

From Cranes with Pine and Bamboo →

Ackerman, Jennifer. The Genius of Birds. New York: Penguin Press, 2016.
Ackerman, Jennifer. What an Owl Knows: The New Science of the World'’s Most Enigmatic Birds. New York: Penguin Books, 2023.
Emery, Nathan and Frans de Waal. Bird Brain: An Exploration of Avian Intelligence. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2016.
Handbook of Bird Biology, 3rd edition. Edited by Irby J. Lovette and John W. Fitzpatrick. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Wiley, 2016.
Heinrich, Bernd. Mind of the Raven: Investigations and Adventures with Wolf-Birds. New York: Cliff Street Books (Harper Collins), 1999.
Heinrich, Bernd. One Wild Bird at a Time: Portraits of Individual Lives. Boston: Mariner Books, 2016.
Lederer, Roger J. Beaks, Bones and Bird Songs: How the Struggle for Survival Has Shaped Birds and Their Behavior. Portland, OR: Timber Press, 2016.
Marzluff, John and Tony Angell. Gifts of the Crow: How Perception, Emotion, and Thought Allow Smart Birds to Behave Like Humans. New York: Atria Paperback, 2013.
Montgomery, Sy. Birdology: Adventures with a Pack of Hens, a Peck of Pigeons, Cantankerous Crows, Fierce Falcons, Hip Hop Parrots, Baby Hummingbirds, and One Murderously Big Living Dinosaur. New York: Atria Books, 2011.
Savage, Candace. Bird Brains: The Intelligence of Crows, Ravens, Magpies and Jays. Revised edition. Vancouver, BC: Greystone Books, 2018.
Sibley, David Allen. What it’s Like to be a Bird: From Flying to Nesting, Eating to Singing—What Birds are Doing and Why. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2020.
Tajima, Kazuhiko. Utsukushi, okashi, wamyō yurai Edo tori no zukan [Birds of Edo: A Guide to Classical Japanese Birds]. Tokyo: PIE International, 2020.

Thumbnail of Excerpt from — Excerpt from "Expansion of Pictorial Culture"

From Ascending the Dragon Gate →

From Crustaceans →

From Fish Head →

Thumbnail of Excerpts from — Excerpts from "The Misunderstood Fish"

From Carp →

Balcombe, Jonathan. What a Fish Knows: The Inner Lives of Our Underwater Cousin. New York: Scientific American/Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2016.
Montgomery, Sy. The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness. Washington Square Press (Simon & Schuster, LLC), 2016.

Thumbnail of Excerpts from the Introduction to <em>Why Animals Talk</em>, PDF — Excerpts from the Introduction to *Why Animals Talk*

From Mice on Rice-cake Flowers →

Thumbnail of Excerpt from the Prologue to <em>Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?</em>, PDF — Excerpt from the Prologue to *Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?*

From Tiger Family →

From Three Raccoon Dogs →

From Insects and Grasses →

Safina, Carl. Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2015.
de Waal, Frans. Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2016.
Kershenbaum, Arik. Why Animals Talk: The New Science of Animal Communication. New York: Penguin Press, 2024.
Young, Rosamund. The Wisdom of Sheep: Observations from a Family Farm. New York: Penguin Press, 2024.

From Blossoming Cherry Trees →

Thumbnail of Yukio Lippit on Folding Screens and Gold Leaf, PDF — Yukio Lippit on Folding Screens and Gold Leaf

From Morning Glories →

From Flowers and Trees of the Four Seasons →

Thumbnail of Excerpts from <em>The Hidden Life of Trees</em>, PDF — Excerpts from *The Hidden Life of Trees*

From Bamboo Grove →

Calvo, Paco and Natalie Lawrence. Planta Sapiens: The New Science of Plant Intelligence. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2024.
Kimmerer, Robin Wall. Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants. Minneapolis, Milkweed Editions, 2013.
Mabey, Richard. The Cabaret of Plants: Forty Thousand Years of Plant Life and The Human Imagination. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2016.
Magdalena, Carlos. The Plant Messiah: Adventures in Search of the World's Rarest Species. New York: Doubleday, 2017.
Simblet, Sarah. Botany for the Artist. New York: DK Publishers, 2010.
Tajima, Kazuhiko. Flowers of Edo: A Guide to Classical Japanese Flowers. Translated by Michael Brucia and Danny MacLeith. Tokyo: PIE International, 2019.
Wohlleben, Peter. The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate. Translated by Jane Billinghurst. Vancouver, BC: Greystone Books, 2016.

Thumbnail of Excerpt from the Introduction to <em>Sotatsu: Making Waves</em>, PDF — Excerpt from the Introduction to *Sotatsu: Making Waves*

From Waves at Matsushima →

Thumbnail of Excerpt from the Introduction to <em>Shinto World Religions</em>, PDF — Excerpt from the Introduction to *Shinto World Religions*

From Boats on the Sea →

Thumbnail of The Rinpa School, PDF — The Rinpa School

From Irises at Yatsuhashi (Eight Bridges) →

Thumbnail of Excerpt from the Forward to <em>Just Enough</em>, PDF — Excerpt from the Forward to *Just Enough*

From Pampas Grass →

Brown, Azby. Just Enough: Lessons in Living Green from Traditional Japan. Tokyo: Kodansha International, 2009.
Hartz, Paula R. Shinto: World Religions. New York: Facts on File, Inc., 1997.
Home Ground: Language for an American Landscape. Edited by Barry Lopez and Debra Gwartney. San Antonio: Trinity University Press, 2006.
Lanham, J. Drew. The Home Place: Memoirs of a Colored Man’s Love Affair with Nature. Minneapolis, Milkweed Editions, 2016.
Macfarlane, Robert. Landmarks. London: Penguin Books, 2016.

From Puppies →

Thumbnail of Yukio Lippit on Sōtatsu's <em>Tarashikomi</em>, PDF — Yukio Lippit on Sōtatsu's *Tarashikomi*

From Dragons and Clouds →

From Flowering Cherry and Autumn Maples with Poem Slips →

Thumbnail of James Ulak on — James Ulak on "Modern" Edo Art

From Moon and Waves →

Carpenter, John T. Designing Nature: The Rinpa Aesthetic in Japanese Art. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2012.
Jordan, Brenda G. and Victoria Weston, editors. Copying the Master and Stealing his Secrets. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2003.
Lippit, Yukio and Japan Kunaichō. Colorful Realm: Japanese Bird-and-Flower Paintings by Itō Jakuchū. Washington, DC: National Gallery of Art, 2012.
Lippit, Yukio and James T. Ulak, editors. Sotatsu. Washington, D.C.: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, 2015.
Okamoto, Naomi. Japanese Ink Painting: The Art of Sumi-e. New York: Sterling Publishing Co. Inc., 1996.
Rubin, Rick. The Creative Act: A Way of Being. New York: Penguin Press, 2023.
Saunders, Rachel and Yukio Lippit. Painting Edo: Selections from the Feinberg Collection of Edo Art. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Art Museums, 2020.
Tanizaki, Junichiro. In Praise of Shadows. New Haven, CT: Leete’s Island Books, 1977.
Watanabe, Masako. Storytelling in Japanese Art. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2011.
Yonemura, Ann. Hokusai. Washington, D.C.: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, 2006.

A World of Edo Art

Resources

Creatures of the Sky

Creatures of the Sea

Creatures of the Land

Plants

Environment

Artistic Techniques