The R. Collection contains more than two-hundred-fifty superior and often rare examples of Japanese woodblock print production from the Edo- and Meiji periods. Buying only the best products, the collector aggrandised and improved his collection constantly, as prints of lesser quality were exchanged for their rarer and better condition counterparts. Under the provenance of the prints, illustrious names like Henry Vever, Walter Amstutz, Siegfried Bing and Tadamasa Hayashi can be found.
The student survey of those prints that took place within the framework Zaigai hîhô started in fall semester 2011. The aim of the tutorial was a complete inventory of the collection. This included formal descriptions of the prints, translation of all inscriptions, investigations on the provenance history and notes on the historical and cultural context of the collection. The results of the survey were recorded in a special wiki-website for the project. Additional courses like kuzushiji cursive script reading classes or lectures on the collection stimulated students’ interest and research abilities. Other research courses within smaller groups of students followed in the next few years. Sessions with the originals deepened students’ understanding of the subject matter. The research undertaken was presented at the international symposium “Moving Art between East Asia and the West” in Zurich in March 2013. A publication of the survey results is planned, as well as a catalogue in an digital format for the group of earlier prints.