Allen Memorial Art Museum of Oberlin College in Ohio has a collection of more than 1,500 ukiyoe wood block prints donated by Mary Ainsworth (1867-1950), who was one of the earliest American collectors infatuated with the art. She started building her remarkable collection since her visit to Japan in 1906 (Meiji 39) and continued collecting for the next 25 years. Her encyclopedic collection is a showcase of the whole history of ukiyoe including the most rare and earliest examples, such as one of the only remaining copies known in the world. The works by the so-called six greatest ukiyoe masters — Utagawa Hiroshige, Katsushika Hokusai, Hishikawa Moronobu, Suzuki Harunobu, Torii Kiyonaga, Kitagawa Utamaro and Tōshūsai Sharaku — are all included in the collection; her beloved Hiroshige comprises the majority of the whole collection.
Although Ainsworth was known as a superb female collector even in her own days, her collection had hardly ever been on public view even in the United States. As the very first opportunity for the prints to return to their homeland, this exhibition presents 200 masterpieces selected from the collection.