About

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IBASEN

IBASEN is a Japanese craftsman specializing in fans and uchiwa (flat fans), founded at the beginning of the Edo period (1603-1868) by a merchant from Hamamatsu, Iba-ya Kanzaemon, who arrived in Edo with Tokugawa Ieyasu. Known for his uchiwa printed ukiyo-e prints, IBASEN became the publisher of famous artists such as Utagawa Toyokuni, Utagawa Kuniyoshi and Utagawa Hiroshige. The printing of these images on fans earned him great popularity in Edo. These ukiyo-e prints have fascinated people not only in Japan but around the world, and are preserved in many famous foreign museums such as the British Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and the Van Gogh Museum.