An original Meiji-period Japanese painting manual featuring refined sumi-e and light color illustrations of plants, animals, birds, and everyday scenes. A rare and complete Volume 2 from the classic study album Shūsho Hyakudai.
This authentic Japanese art book is titled 「習書百題 第二」 (Shūsho Hyakudai, Volume Two), a structured painting and drawing study album produced during the late Meiji period (early 20th century).
Designed as a progressive practice manual, the book presents a curated series of 100 themed subjects, combining botanical studies, animals, birds, landscapes, and genre scenes. Each subject is rendered in an elegant balance of sumi ink linework and restrained hand-applied color, reflecting the pedagogical approach of Meiji-era art education.
Illustrated subjects in this volume include:
- Persimmon branch (柿枝)
- Tea preparation scene (煎茶)
- Flowering plants and blossoms
- Eggplant (茄子)
- Chestnut burr (栗枝)
- Crane among reeds
- Turtle on a slope
- Bamboo and foliage studies
Each double-page illustration is clearly captioned, and many plates bear red artist seals, adding both authenticity and visual refinement.
The final page includes a handwritten inscription and seals dated 明治戊戌晩春 (late spring of a Meiji cyclical year), confirming the book’s early 20th-century origin. The volume is bound in its original yellow washi covers with the title slip intact.
This is a genuine Meiji-period instructional art book used by students and painters.
DETAILS
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Title (Japanese): 習書百題 第二
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Title (Romanized): Shūsho Hyakudai, Volume 2
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Translation: “One Hundred Practice Subjects for Painting – Vol. 2”
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Genre: Japanese painting manual / art study album
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Language: Japanese
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Illustration Style: Sumi-e with light color
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Subjects: Plants, flowers, fruit, animals, birds, genre scenes
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Period: Meiji period (late, c. early 1900s)
Shūsho Hyakudai represents the transition between traditional Edo painting practice and modern Meiji art education. Such manuals were used by aspiring artists to master brush control, composition, and subject variation.
Complete volumes in original condition are increasingly scarce due to:
- Heavy historical classroom use
- Fragile washi paper
- Limited survival outside Japan
This volume is ideal for:
- Japanese art collectors
- Sumi-e and nihonga practitioners
- Museum or archive collections
- Collectors of Meiji-era educational books
