Authentication & condition
Nearly everything sold here is a reprint, and we say so plainly — that is the honest state of the ukiyo-e market. Original Edo-period impressions of famous designs are rare and priced like the museum pieces they are. What circulates, and what fills our sets, are the twentieth-century editions: sheets printed by hand from re-carved blocks, by publishing houses keeping the craft alive for a global audience.
Three words on every listing
Reprint means an impression made after the original edition, usually from newly carved blocks that copy the composition. Restrike is the narrower case of later impressions pulled from surviving earlier blocks. Practically, the label that matters most is the publisher and era we state on each listing — a 1950s Yuyudo sheet and a 1930s Nihon Mokuhan sheet of the same design are different objects with different papers, palettes, and prices.
Our condition grades
Fresh color, full margins, no visible flaws at arm’s length.
Strong impression with minor age evidence — light toning or a soft edge.
Honest wear: toning, small creases or closed tears; priced accordingly.
Grades summarize; photographs decide. Every listing carries photos of the exact sheet being sold, plus a copy-specific note (toning, a soft corner, a printer’s smudge). When two listings of one design sit side by side on its page, you are comparing real objects, not tiers.