Our Story

A note from the founder of Rising Sun Prints: Jack Jenkins

“It all started when I picked up a poster of the Great Wave in my first year of university.

From there, I began to discover a world of lesser-known masters, new genres and fantastical tales.

I soon realised that there was so much more to Ukiyo-e than Hokusai’s iconic image. I was hooked.

Shorly after, I made my first acquisition – a Sharaku portrait."

"I felt moved by the transcendent beauty of the Ukiyo-e masters, and a desire to make these works known and available.

In the art-form’s heyday, Ukiyo-e were mass-produced for the general public, costing about as much as a bowl of rice. That way, anyone could enjoy a famous view of a distant land, or their home city.

Paintings were for the wealthy social elite, the aristocrats. Ukiyo-e prints were made so that everyone could enjoy the masterpieces of the renowned artists of the day, like Hokusai or Kunisada.

Nowadays, you'll need a spare $10,000 to compete against collectors in auctions, if you want a faded, probably damaged Hokusai print. But in the spirit of the original Ukiyo-e publishers, at Rising Sun Prints we’re making Ukiyo-e accessible to all, so anyone can bring a sense of timeless beauty into their home."