Lawrence Marceau, foreign languages and literatures, has served as principal guest scholar for a major exhibition at the Library of Congress, entitled "The Floating World of Ukiyo-E, Shadows, Dreams and Substance," which features pre-19th century Japanese woodcuts, drawings and books and is on display through Jan. 5.

Marceau, who has given several gallery tours of the exhibition, organized a major symposium at the Library of Congress, Oct. 26-27, and also gave a lecture entitled "From Cherry Block to Mulberry Paper: Japanese Ukiyo-E Prints and Picture Books," on Oct. 27

Ukiyo-e is commonly translated as "pictures of the floating world," and the images are of actors, women, myths, legends, history and literature that have meanings and allusions beyond the actual art work itself.

The exhibition has been well received, with The Washington Post calling it an "impressive show" and concluding by saying, "The exhibition includes a wealth of art that has gone almost unseen for a century. It's a show that invites multiple visits–and just might inspire a few people to become Japan scholars so they can see more of this remarkable collection."

Marceau, who majored in East Asian studies at Colgate University, has a master's degree in Japanese language and literature from Kyoto University and his doctorate from Harvard University. He has had a longtime interest and expertise in Japanese literature and has written a soon-to-be-published book, Takebe Ayatari: A Bunjin Bohemian in Early Modern Japan. He also is coauthor of the exhibition catalogue, The Floating World of Ukiyo-E: Shadows, Dreams and Substance, published by Harry Abrams and the Library of Congress in September.

Because of his background and knowledge of Japanese literature, Marceau was asked to help research the books in the exhibition.

"These rare, early books of the late 17th and 18th centuries were works of art in themselves," he said. "There was no mechanism used to produce them. They were handmade, including the text, and illustrations were made by wooden blocks, each block printing with a different color.

"The books were published in lots of 300 to 3,000. My research involved those who were involved in each step of making the books–the publishers who conceived and coordinated the projects, the artists, the carvers, the printers and those who sold the books," he said.

Marceau worked on the exhibition for a year and a half, in Washington and in Tokyo last January, where he continued his research for the texts that accompany the books on display.

The exhibition's woodcuts and drawings are mounted and shown on the walls. The books are open and in glass cases. Some are designed like an accordion so several pages can be shown at once, Marceau said.

"This is an unusual exhibit for the Library of Congress," Marceau pointed out. "Their exhibits tend to be of printed material. This exhibition of approximately 35 books and more than 80 prints, which have never been shown before, is vivid, stunning and colorful. It contributes to understanding Japanese culture and has been well received."

Visit the exhibition's web site at [http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/ ukiyo-e].