Fashionable Patterns in Japan from the Early 20th Century

Edited by illustrator and designer Korin Furuya who specialised in representational art, design magazine Shin-Bijutsukai featured the work of the best artists, illustrators, engravers, and painters of the early 20th century. The design elements reproduced over the pages represent flora and fauna and also more abstract shapes.

As well as editing the magazine, Korin Furuya himself worked on the theme of the collections. He also created other works in a format known as orihon, an album that folds out like an accordion, in which he compiled images of wood engravings representing pine trees and bamboo and an entire collection of patterns adorned with metallic pigments.

Templates for artisans

Published monthly, the magazine not only promoted the artists featured in it but also represented a veritable bible for creators and artisans. The creation of fabrics, paper, ceramic objects… all of these were domains professionals drew from in Shin-Bijutsukai—with its various selections of patterns—to inspire their own collections. Korin Furuya wanted his magazine to be seen as a collection of works of art that could be viewed as such or used in everyday life in Japan. These illustrations now belong to the public domain and can be downloaded for free from The Public Domain Review. 

This compilation of work recalls that of Mori Yuzan who created Hamonshu, a design work, in 1903, which presented series of wave designs and is also available online.

More details on Shin-Bijutsukai magazine can be found on The Public Domain Review.