Publications

Yoshiaki Shimizu, one of the foremost scholars of Japanese art history, taught Japanese art history at Princeton University for more than twenty-five years, during which time he trained many students who have become respected professors and museum professionals. Crossing the Sea gathers essays by thirteen of these students in honor of Shimizu’s extraordinary career at Princeton, as well as his teaching at other institutions and his work as curator of Japanese art at the Freer Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. Ranging in topics from premodern Buddhist, narrative, and ink painting in Japan and East Asia to twentieth-century Japanese prints and popular visual images, these essays present innovative research that draws attention to remarkable works of Japanese art and their fascinating historical contexts and modern interpretations. Including reinterpretations of well-known works and richly developed accounts of their meaning and function in historical, religious, and cultural contexts, this volume provides a state-of-the-field portrait of Japanese art studies today.