oel Chiappa?s interest in Japanese woodblock prints began with the impulse purchase of an on-sale book during his undergraduate days at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He knew nothing about its subject matter, but what is a student other than an inquiring mind on legs?

The more he turned the pages of his purchase, the more fascinated the young Bermudian became with the subject matter, but it was not until later, as one of the students who invented the Internet, that Mr. Chiappa reaped the financial rewards which allowed him to begin purchasing Japanese woodblock prints from a small store on Beacon Hill, Boston.

As so often happens, one thing led to another, and he began visiting the largest Asian art dealer on the US east coast.

As he purchased more and more prints, so too did Mr. Chiappa?s knowledge of this art form steadily increase until today he regards himself as something close to an expert.

This week approximately 60 of his one-time collection of Japanese woodblock prints went on show at the Bermuda National Gallery (BNG) in an exhibition entitled ?The Art of Drama: Kabuki Theatre through Japanese Woodblock Prints?, co-curated by himself and the Gallery?s David Mitchell.

The history of woodblock printing is linked with another Japanese tradition: kabuki theatre, both of which began around the late 1660s.

One of several art forms developed by the chonin (urban merchants and craftsmen, the lowest class on the feudal scale), the prints were the equivalent of today?s movie and pop star posters.

Creating them was a complicated, multi-faceted, collaborative process involving artists, calligraphers, block makers, printers, and government censors. (See www.japanprints.com ?How prints are made?). Many of the people involved became very well known, among them 19th century chief kabuki print artist Kunisada.

Early vegetable dyes used in colour printing lacked the durability of later dyes, so people kept their prints in book form away from the light, enjoying them as one would leafing through a coffee table book.

Mr. Chiappa adopted the same procedure with his collection, storing the prints in acid-free folders.

Even so, the early prints in the BNG exhibition, which date from 1740, are faded, with little or no colour remaining. As one progresses along the display, however, the prints grow richer in colour and design. In terms of face colouring, in many instances this is so delicately printed as to be almost invisible ? a tribute to the printer?s skills. Looking carefully, one can see the application, in later prints, of mica or metal dusts which create shiny areas.

Other fine details include the telltale bands of fabric on the kabuki actors? foreheads. Since men played women in kabuki theatre, they shaved the front of their scalps and covered the area with cloth underneath the elaborate head dresses.

Naturally, certain kabuki actors were recognised stars of the day, so it is also possible to identify certain faces among the prints. In fact, to view the exhibition in depth require times to study and appreciate all of the beautifully-wrought detail, particularly in the late prints.

The exhibition covers prints spanning the period 1740 to 1940.

Unfortunately, after 1867, when Japan opened up to the West and became industrialised, woodblock printing more or less died out, so a collection such as this is a rare opportunity to enjoy fine examples of what remains.

Interestingly, Mr. Chiappa also sees a connection between Japanese and some Bermudian aesthetics.

?Japan has an artistic sense of aesthetics, or ?wabi sabi?, which is a combination of two words: ?things that are old, and ?accidental purpose?, and Bermudian architecture, when still aesthetic, is in tune with the Japanese aesthetic. As a Bermudian, it all seems, at its core, to be something that I can really relate to.?

Beyond his fascination with Japanese woodblock prints, the US resident?s expertise also extends to Japanese decorative swordware, Japanese lacquerware, archaic Chinese jades and ceramics and Central Asian rugs.

In addition, he is an aficionado of blues, and jazz from the ?50s and ?60s ? Brubeck, Dexter Gordon, early Miles Davis are favourites, as is modern jazzman Keith Jarrett.

An avid reader, Mr. Chiappa describes his home as ?a combination art museum and library?. Even so, he says that he is ?not interested in any particular area? of the things which interest him.

?If something catches my fancy I don?t care where it is from. Japanese prints caught my eye because I love them. It is a hobby. What I really am is a computer network person.?

Mr. Chiappa grew up in Spanish Point as one of several very talented siblings. His sister, Dr. Sharon Chiappa, is a researcher in biochemistry who is currently working on neurochemistry at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, while brother Dr. Keith Chiappa is a neurologist who frequently visits Bermuda to treat patients.

The father of two children, a daughter aged 16 and a son aged 13, makes his home in Yorktown, Virginia, a place which is full of connections to early Bermuda, of course. He is currently working on future development of the internet. His full CV can be found on his website: www.chiappa.net/~jnc.