Mountains of the Heart
Paintings of Kameda Bôsai
Introduction and Commentary by Stephen Addiss

One secret of the appeal of [these books] is that their artists see with such imagination and clarity... They attract, seize, and hold a reader’s attention. [They] provide revelation, energy, and inspiration...They empower people.
— Roger Keyes

A beautiful addition to our acclaimed collection of Far Eastern art titles, Mountains of the Heart explores landscape through the eyes Kameda Bôsai, a poet, free spirit and renowned master of the ehon (art-book) tradition. Depicting homes lost in the mists of immense foothills, or small figures wandering through rolling valleys, Bôsai’s bold collection elegantly portrays the relationship between man and his environment. Each image inspires reverence for nature’s quiet power, conveying a sense of the bucolic tranquility that Bôsai so lovingly immortalized with his rich, spontaneous style. Throughout this book, readers will find themselves drawn not only to the landscapes themselves, but to the indelible presence of the artist, whose love of life is apparent in every brush stroke.

“One secret of the appeal of ehon is that their artists see with such imagination and clarity, draw with such verve,” explains Roger S. Keyes, curator of the New York Public Library ehon exhibition, “They attract, seize, and hold a reader’s attention. Ehon provide revelation, energy, and inspiration...They empower people.” This certainly holds true in Mountains of the Heart, a groundbreaking facsimile edition that makes Bôsai’s collection available for the first time since its original publication in the 19th century. A thought-provoking introduction and detailed captions by Stephen Addiss provide insight into Bôsai’s life and paintings, revealing the influences that shaped his celebrated work.

STEPHEN ADDISS is Tucker-Boatwright Professor in the Humanities at the University of Richmond. Author of Japanese Ghosts and Demons and respected scholar of Japanese history, he is the recipient of four grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities and one from the National Endowment for the Arts and has published 36 books and exhibition catalogs.

October 2007
10 1/2 x 7 1/4 in., 112 pages, 22 color spreads, 22 b/w
ISBN: 978-0-8076-1588-1
Hardback, $34.95 (Canada $43.50)