Watanabe Seitei - Bijutsu Sekai – Volume 10 (美術世界 第十編) - 1891

Original issue of Bijutsu Sekai (“The World of Art”) Volume 10, published by Hakubunkan in 1891 under the editorial direction of Watanabe Seitei.

This volume features a curated selection of woodblock-printed designs and essays by prominent Meiji-era artists, including Kawanabe Kyōsai, Kōno Bairei, Imao Keinen, and others. The opening pages include a printed colophon listing contributors, with Seitei credited as editor. The contents combine essays on art and culture with illustrations inspired by earlier masters such as Iwasa Matabei.

Printed with exceptional detail on handmade washi paper using traditional woodblock techniques, Bijutsu Sekai remains one of the most influential art periodicals of the Meiji era — documenting Japan’s transition between classical and modern aesthetics.

The colophon on the opening page clearly states “明治二十四年十月” (Meiji 24, October), confirming publication in October 1891 by Hakubunkan, Tokyo — the original first Meiji-period issue of Bijutsu Sekai, Volume 10.