JAPANESE ART GREETING CARD - HERITAGE COLLECTION | NBC

A collection of elegant greeting cards inspired by the visual heritage of Japan — from classical paintings and seasonal blossoms to kimono, traditional architecture and iconic ukiyo-e.

Designed with rich colours, refined details and distinctly Japanese imagery, each card is both a greeting and a small piece of art to keep.

Description

The Japanese Heritage Collection explores Japan through some of its most recognisable artistic and cultural imagery.

Rather than following a single motif, the collection moves across different periods and expressions of Japanese visual culture: playful figures inspired by the celebrated Chōjū-jinbutsu-giga, delicate cherry blossoms, elegantly dressed women in kimono, and imagery derived from Hokusai's internationally recognised The Great Wave off Kanagawa.

This variety is precisely what gives the collection its character. Each design presents a different window into Japan — sometimes playful, sometimes refined, sometimes immediately iconic.

The cards are also carefully designed as gifts rather than simple postcards. Selected designs feature refined surface treatments, including a varnished finish, while the set follows the same versatile format as the previous greeting-card collections.

Each card includes two inner sheets: a seasonal sheet prepared for New Year greetings and a plain sheet for your own message. A matching envelope is also included, allowing the same card to be used for celebrations, birthdays, thank-you messages, anniversaries or simply as a thoughtful note.

The Designs

1. Chōjū-giga – Turquoise

A playful composition inspired by Chōjū-jinbutsu-giga (鳥獣人物戯画), the celebrated Japanese picture scrolls depicting anthropomorphic rabbits, frogs and monkeys.

Here the historic figures are reworked against flowing turquoise waves and traditional geometric patterns, creating a design that feels ancient and surprisingly contemporary at the same time.

2. Sakura in Golden Light

A quieter and more refined composition of white cherry blossom branches against a warm gold-toned background.

Instead of the familiar bright pink interpretation of sakura, this design has an almost screen-painting quality, giving it a more restrained and sophisticated Japanese character.

3. Kimono Beauty

A classically dressed Japanese woman in a brilliant red kimono, presented almost like a traditional portrait.

The subdued background allows the kimono itself — its colour, layers and decorative obi — to become the focus. Of the collection, this is one of the designs most directly associated with traditional Japanese elegance.

4. The Great Wave

A greeting-card interpretation of Katsushika Hokusai's The Great Wave off Kanagawa, one of the best-known works of Japanese ukiyo-e.

The deep indigo waves and enormous curling crest make this the most immediately recognisable Japanese artwork in the collection — an especially accessible choice for someone discovering Japanese art.

5. Chōjū-giga – Patchwork

Another interpretation of Chōjū-giga, this time placing the playful animal figures within a patchwork of traditional Japanese textile-like patterns.

The muted red, terracotta, cream and grey palette gives it a warmer, almost vintage character and makes it quite different from the turquoise version despite sharing the same historical source.

Summary

A celebration of Japan through art, pattern and tradition — each card transforms a familiar piece of Japanese visual culture into a small gift designed to be written, given and kept.

Details

• Japanese art greeting card
• 5 designs available
• Inspired by traditional Japanese art and cultural imagery
• Includes designs based on:
  • Chōjū-jinbutsu-giga
  • Sakura
  • Traditional kimono
  • Japanese architecture
  • Hokusai's The Great Wave off Kanagawa
• Refined printed finish
• Varnished surface treatment on selected designs
• Includes 2 inner message sheets
  • Seasonal sheet for New Year greetings
  • Plain sheet for personal messages
• Matching envelope included
• Suitable for New Year, birthdays, anniversaries, congratulations, thank-you messages and other occasions
• Approx. 170 × 116 mm
• Made in Japan