Nutzungsbedingungen

Terms of Service

Effective: August 8, 2026

These terms govern your use of ukiyo-e.org (the “Service”), operated by Mongaku, LLC (“we” or “us”). The Service is a free research database of Japanese woodblock prints that aggregates images and metadata from museums, universities, libraries, and other institutions (“Sources”), and provides text search, image search, and image-similarity analysis across them. There are no user accounts, and nothing is sold here. By using the Service, you agree to these terms and to our Privacy Policy.

The Catalog Comes from Institutions

The images and metadata on the Service — including titles, descriptions, dates, and attributions — are collected automatically from the Sources’ public websites, and reproduce what each Source has published. We also process the catalog automatically: indexing it for search, analyzing images for similarity, aligning multiple copies of the same print, and translating between languages. Both the source material and our automated processing can contain errors — attributions may be wrong, descriptions may be outdated, and similar-print matches are algorithmic suggestions, not expert judgments. Verify important details against the Source’s own records. We do not endorse any Source, and links from the Service lead to independent websites with their own terms and privacy practices.

Commercial Listings

Some Sources are dealers and auction houses, and some prints link to pages where they are or were offered for sale. We are not a party to, and will have no responsibility or liability for, any transaction between you and any Source. Prices and availability shown or linked may be stale, and we make no guarantees regarding the quality, authenticity, or condition of any print offered by any Source.

Image Uploads

You may upload an image (or submit an image URL) to search the database. Only submit images you have the right to share. Uploaded images are stored at a public URL so results can be revisited and shared — do not upload anything you would not want publicly accessible. Do not upload unlawful content. We may remove any upload at any time, and will remove your upload on request (see the Privacy Policy).

Acceptable Use

When using the Service, you agree not to:

bulk-harvest or mass-scrape the Service, or use automated means to access it other than ordinary web browsers and search engines;
interfere with the operation of the Service or impose an unreasonable load on it; or
use the Service in violation of applicable law.

The database exists to support research. If you are interested in using data from the Service for academic or research purposes, we’d be glad to hear from you — contact admin@ukiyo-e.org.

Copyright and Takedowns

Images and descriptions of prints remain the property of the Sources, artists, or other rights holders they originate from. We display them for identification, comparison, and research, and we credit and link to the originating Source. Nothing in these terms transfers any third-party intellectual property rights to us or to you. If you are a rights holder and want material removed, contact us and we will remove it.

Formal notices under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) may be sent to our designated agent, registered with the U.S. Copyright Office (Designation No. DMCA-1077406):

Your notice should include: (1) identification of the copyrighted work; (2) the URL of the material on the Service; (3) your contact information; (4) a statement that you have a good-faith belief the use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; (5) a statement, under penalty of perjury, that the information in your notice is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or authorized to act for them; and (6) your physical or electronic signature. We respond promptly to valid notices, including by removing the material.

Our Intellectual Property

The Service itself — its software, design, and the selection, arrangement, indexing, and similarity analysis of the catalog — belongs to Mongaku, LLC. Third-party names and trademarks that appear on the Service belong to their respective owners.

Disclaimers

The Service is provided “as is” and “as available.” To the fullest extent permitted by law, we disclaim all warranties, express or implied, including warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. We do not warrant that the Service will be error-free or uninterrupted, or that the catalog will be accurate, complete, or current. You use the Service at your own risk.

Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, Mongaku, LLC and its members, officers, and employees will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages arising out of or related to your use of the Service, under any theory of liability, even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages. Our total aggregate liability arising out of these terms or the Service will not exceed fifty dollars (US $50) — the Service is free. Some jurisdictions do not allow certain limitations, so parts of this section may not apply to you.

Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Mongaku, LLC from and against any claims, damages, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising out of your violation of these terms or your misuse of the Service.

Governing Law

These terms are governed by the laws of the State of New York, excluding its conflict-of-law provisions. The exclusive venue for any dispute arising out of these terms or the Service is the state and federal courts located in Albany County, New York, and you consent to the personal jurisdiction of those courts.

Changes to These Terms

We may update these terms from time to time. When we do, we will post the updated terms on this page and change the effective date above. Continuing to use the Service after a change takes effect means you accept the updated terms.

Miscellaneous

These terms, together with the Privacy Policy, are the entire agreement between you and us regarding the Service. If any provision is found unenforceable, the rest remain in effect. Our failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver of it. You may not assign these terms without our consent; we may assign them in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets.

How to Contact Us

The Service is operated by Mongaku, LLC, 418 Broadway STE N, Albany, New York 12207, United States. Questions about these terms can be sent to privacy@ukiyo-e.org.

Attribution

These terms are adapted from Automattic’s open-source legal documents (available under CC BY-SA 4.0) and informed by 37signals’ open-source policies (available under CC BY 4.0) and GitHub’s site policies (public domain, CC0). In the same spirit, you are welcome to reuse these terms under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license.