New project reimagines Evangelion’s heroines as traditional Japanese Ukiyo-e art prints
A new art project has been announced, which will fuse the world of the iconic anime series Evangelion with the traditional Japanese art of ukiyo-e.
The “Eva Japonisme” project is being produced by Hansan, a modern-day publisher of ukiyo-e, or woodblock prints, that seeks to carry on the traditions of the Edo period.
This new initiative aims to create a “new Japanese beauty” for the modern era by combining the worldview of Evangelion with the aesthetics of traditional Japanese crafts.
The first release from the “Eva Japonisme” project is a series of three prints titled “Eva Ukiyo-e: Three Beauties of the Eight Ri of Hakone.”
The collection is a direct homage to a famous triptych by the legendary ukiyo-e master of “bijin-ga,” or “pictures of beautiful women,” Kitagawa Utamaro.
This new version reimagines the three main heroines of the Evangelion series, Rei, Asuka, and Mari, as princesses in the classic ukiyo-e style.
The artwork is based on the imaginative premise of “What if Evangelion existed in the Edo period, and what kind of ukiyo-e would people have made of it?”
The three different prints in the collection are as follows:
- Eva Ukiyo-e: Three Beauties of the Eight Ri of Hakone – Rei
- Eva Ukiyo-e: Three Beauties of the Eight Ri of Hakone – Asuka
- Eva Ukiyo-e: Three Beauties of the Eight Ri of Hakone – Mari
Each of the artworks is a high-quality giclée print, produced on handmade “washi” paper from the famous Echizen region.
The prints are being sold on a made-to-order basis, and each one will be individually numbered, with the first edition of each print limited to 200 copies.
Each of the three different ukiyo-e prints is priced at ¥33,000 (approx. $224 USD/£165 GBP).
They will be available for purchase for a limited time on the official “Ukiyo-e Kobo” online shop.
The sale is scheduled to begin on Friday, the 29th of August, at 12:00 PM Japan Standard Time.
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