Kuchi-e (mouth + picture) are front inserted to books (novels, literary, magazines) during the years of Meiji period to Taisho period (1868 -1926). These are generally classified as hand made multicolored prints produced by the leading artist of that time typically in limited quantity (300 to 500 by most publishers) most are the woodblock prints. Some famous magazines had production up to 20,000 sheets. They are mostly slightly smaller size than regular Oban size prints, and typically folded in order to fit in magazine or novel. So they usually have folded line or lines. Kuchi-e are very important for magazine or novels. These pictures have to inspire and attract readers to make sales. The story and Kuchi-e were perfect combination. Readers were attracted and inspired to read interesting stories by the use of Kuchi-e. That kind imagination and interest of readers brought great sales in those days. However, these Kuchi-e had been neglected over the years except for the more advanced and knowledgeable collectors. In Japan there were so many wonderful Kuchi-e artists. Now Kuchi-e collectors are growing worldwide. We are happy to introduce some Kuchi-e for your consideration. Our Kuchi-e came from old estates in Japan, handselected for quality and importance of their time period.
