These Shin-Bijutsukai designs by artist Furuya Kōrin date from 1896-1903. Shin-Bijutsukai (New Oceans of Art) was the name of a Japanese design journal compiled by Kōrin and and published by Unsōdō around the turn of the twentieth century. At this time, Japanese art was entering a new chapter – one where tradition and modernity met on the printed page. Korin’s Shin-Bijutsukai publications, in which he designed and edited full-colour woodblock plates from the leading Japanese artists of the day (including himself) remain as some of the finest examples of this. They depicted the latest trends in kimono textiles, folding screens and lacquerware. Shin-Bijutsukai marked a watershed moment in Japanese publishing history when design books were no longer just for reference but artworks in their own right.