I have--since relinquishing my guns as a trainee artist, resolving somewhat of an infrequent "hobby" artist--for a long-time been fascinated by Japanese artwork and printing. It shouldn't be much of a surprise then, that I have often found myself in the Japanese Gallery on the Camden Passage in Islington.
Neatly laid out, in a very minimalist Japanese fashion, the Japanese Gallery has been collecting an abundant selection of Ukiyo-e ("sad" or "floating world") wood-block prints that range from: antique originals that around 200 years old, if not more; to contemporary Manga reprints. The prices are quite infrequent as well, some of the stock is well out of reach for my pockets, but some antique-reprints can be as low as £10, if not lower. The varied stock is then categorised into further sections: Beauty and Female; Animals; Shunga and so on.
Downstairs there are a couple of exhibitions spaces, which usually display Geisha (traditionally referring to a person of the arts) works. There are also a few reference books and knickknacks floating around, so if you're interested it's probably worth checking out. read more