Tsuchiya Koitsu
The Catalogue Raisonne of Tsuchiya Koitsu
Meiji to Shin-Hanga, Watercolours to Woodblocks

Catalogue Raisonne of Tsuchiya Koitsu Not just a catalogue, but an important research text for any serious shin-hanga collector!


Stock is now limited.
A second edition will not be published.
  • Large 26 x 30cm (w x h) cloth hard cover volume. About 450 pages;
  • Dust jacket and cloth slip case;
  • Over 300 woodblock prints, watercolours and lithographs in full colour. Most prints are individually displayed on a full page.
  • Many previously unseen works of art (including lithographs, and double-oban Doi-published woodblock prints!);
  • Six separate publisher chapters, and many research and reference articles;
  • Comprehensive seals, signatures, and watermarks chapters;
  • Includes Japanese translation (全チャプター の邦訳も付いてます!)
  • Price: $220 Australian dollars (about US$140)


See a review of our catalogue here.

This baby is long overdue, and comes in at a whopping 4kg because we've aimed for a works of the highest quality, with embossed cloth slip case, embossed cloth covers, and premium-quality heavy-weight high-gloss pages. Because shipping costs will be a little expensive (around $30 for Sea Mail from Japan) we've decided to keep the sale price well below that of a book of equivalent quality and content.

The first 200 copies will be were personally editioned and signed by me, Ross Walker (all now sold, thank you). Like Hotei's Kawase Hasui catalogue, we expect this edition of the Koitsu catalogue to be out-of-print well before any second edition is considered. Copies will be editioned and shipped in the same order that orders are received (first in, first served). To secure your copy, please click the "Order the Koitsu Raisonne" button below.

Take a sneak peek below (a selection of pages from the raisonne):

Please note that the images you see in the "sneak peek" files below are low-resolution versions. The printed catalogue contains full-colour high-resolution images.

Some feedback from purchasers of the Koitsu Raisonne:
  • I have just spent many months wading through the Hotei Encyclopaedia of Woodblock Prints, which although a great resource and from which I have learned a lot and, moreover, has helped me in putting together my own amateur "thesis" on the history and development of Ukiyo-e and the Japanese woodblock print, notwithstanding an artist chronology, it is quite a laborious read and it was such a pleasure, therefore, to begin reading yours (a revelation in fact when compared to some of the other texts).

    Essentially, not only is your book beautifully and luxuriously bound and put together, a welcome adornment to any bookshelf, the text is also clear in both its layout, size and its succinctness that makes for an easy, enjoyable yet insightful and informative read; in essence it reads like a story and is hard to put down. You clearly have a loving admiration and respect for the artist and those associated with him, which has certainly rubbed-off on me, and the wonderful colour illustrations compiled within are to behold.

    In all, it has started me on the path to looking out for and collecting Koitsu prints, albeit within a modest budget and affordability at the time, yet in the absence of owning any prints of my own, your book is the next best thing. It is one great book and well worth its price - you should be extremely proud of it!

  • Congratulations to you and to Toshikazu Doi. A very handsome production with excellent reproductions. Colour and definition are wonderful as is the generous size of the images. I have not yet had time to read much of the book, but have already made use of the chapter on Doi stamps. That in itself is a considerable bonus. I look forward to reading the text over the coming week. Thank you both for providing collectors with such a useful and attractive reference. The immense amount of work that must have gone into this production has been fully justified by the result. John L.
  • Thanks for your book, it's really an amazing and outstanding work. And congratulations, because I can't understand how you could achieve such a ratio of quality and price.
  • Just to let you know that my copy arrived Thursday morning in excellent condition - great packaging! David
  • Got it. The book is AWSOME! Thanks!
  • Received the catalogue today. Thank you. I am mesmerized. I started reading it last night - probably will take me a bit to get through it but I feel like I'm savoring a fine wine or a piece of delightful dessert. Congratulations once again - a testament of dedication to his art. A tremendous accomplishment. Don
  • I picked up the Koitsu Reference today and wanted to tell you what a marvelous job you did in putting it together. I will recommend it highly to my Shin Hanga clients. Al
  • BRAVO. The book looks great. I've not had time to read it yet, but it looks terrific and I'm sure it will be the bible on Koitsu for decades. Peter
  • The book just arrived. It is gorgeous and I plan to spend many delightful hours paging through it. You easily could have charged $200-$250 for this tome. Fran.
  • I'm pleased to announce the arrival of your masterpiece yesterday at 3:00 pm. It was well-packaged and arrived without a bump or scrape! My initial impression is that your book even surpasses my already high expectations, and you should be very proud of your achievements. I'm anxious to spend more time reading your book and admiring the beautifully printed images- it is exciting to see a quantity of Koitsu's images for the first time. Also, I believe it was a good decision on your part to include a slipcase, as your book is large and quite heavy. Laura
  • The book arrived yesterday in perfect condition. CONGRATULATIONS! It is an absolutely fabulous, incredibly impressive book. I shall now spend some quiet time enjoying your hard work and read all about Koitsu and his prints. You should all be very proud of this magnificent book, a real treasure and a great addition to my collection of art books. Randi
  • My copy of Koitsu raisonne arrived this morning ! Thanks for your very careful packaging, the book was perfectly protected. I was going out for office when the postman arrived, I had a meeting this morning, but I HAD to open the parcel and have a look immediately ... Actually, I am ashamed to say that one hour later, I was still sitting home at my desk, with your fantastic book in my hands, as my boss tried desperately to reach me ... without any success ! It's really a great, great job, and, even if my interest for japanese art is quite recent (2-3 years) , I am a art book collector, and I don't think I have ever seen such a high quality ... You took care about the smallest details ... I wonder how many thousands of hours were necessary for such an accomplishment. I was like a 8 year boy receiving his long-awaited Christmas present! Many, many thanks to the authors, and to all the contributors.
  • The Koitsu Catalogue arrived yesterday 2 February in excellent condition thanks to your packaging. It is even better than I had expected and I look forward to many hours of enjoyment appreciating the works of Koitsu. Thank you for all your work in making such a wonderful collection of your research and knowledge available.
  • The book arrived. A very impressive piece of work and for sure a bargain at $150. You did good. You should be proud.
  • The Koitsu catalog arrived Saturday. It is a fantastic document and an important contribution to the literature. I have enjoyed several times already and have found it useful in identifying prints.
  • I am happy to say that the book arrived safely yesterday. What can I say about it that has not already been said. I can only both compliment and congratulate you on a superlative product and on your prompt and efficient service.

Update January 18, 2009

The catalogue is now available.

Update December 28, 2008

I have just received the first bound copy of the catalogue complete with shipping box. Everything looks in order so I will now start accepting pre-orders. Please note that first shipments of the catalogue will not occur until around late January.

Update December 12, 2008

On Tuesday the 9th I spent the day in Tokyo watching the Koitsu catalogue being printed. It's really an amazing process and I wasn't prepared for the amount of paper it takes to print such a large book. These huge printing machines shown below can align four separate colour plates (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black) to within about 0.1mm; I'm amazed. They print four pages on one sheet. We printed 11 sheets (44 pages) during that day, so printing all 450 pages takes about 10 days.

Getting the colours right prior to printing is an expensive process. Each colour adjustment/check printing cycle costs about $10,000, and several were required. Also, we decided to pay for custom-made packaging to ensure the catalogues arrive safely at the customer end even if they are shipped via sea mail. As a result the final cost blew out a bit, so we're targeting a price of $150 per book.

Target date for shipping will be late January 2009. The catalogue itself will be finished on Christmas day, but after that the outside slipcase and shipping boxes will be manufactured to fit the book, and will take the extra time.

Mitsubishi printer
The 'output' end of the huge Mitsubishi printer used to print the Koitsu catalogue
Mitsubishi printer
Colour ckecking on the printer control panel
Mitsubishi printer
Hot off the press! Stacks of 4-page sheets
Mitsubishi printer


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