Kamigata Ukiyo-e Museum

This guide to the Kamigata Ukiyo-e Museum in Osaka starts outside a Dotonbori kabuki theater two centuries ago, where fans bought woodblock portraits of their favorite actors as keepsakes of a single performance. It follows a quirk of Osaka's printmakers: while Tokyo's studios flattered their stars, Kamigata artists drew them exactly as they looked, wrinkles and all, portraits of stars like Nakamura Utaemon the third and Kataoka Nizaemon the seventh. The top floor still holds the actual carving tools those printmakers used, with a chance to try pulling a print yourself.