EDITORIAL: On behalf of the whole team, a warm welcome to the new Andon! Of course there will be teething problems, and we dare not pretend there is no room for improvement, but on the whole we are very excited. And we hope you will be pleasantly surprised.
This very special issue is mainly devoted to collections, collectors and collecting. Ton and Mies Becker describe their efforts to discover the story behind a netsuke in their collection. Markéta Hánová introduces us to a unique collection of modern Japanese calligraphy at the National Gallery in Prague. The visionary 19th-century collector Frederick Stibbert and his outstanding collection of arms, armour, and art are the subject of Francesco Civita’s contribution. Rosina Buckland presents an amazing selection of unknown Japanese paintings in various collections across Scotland. Jan Dees continues his report of the sale of the late Edward Wrangham’s collection of inrō, and Henk and Arendie Herwig travelled to Germany to speak to Hendrick Lühl about his passion for Osaka prints. Please note our new feature, What’s Happening and What’s New, with snippets from the world of Japanese art today.

Enjoy and be inspired!