Ukiyo-e
1603-1912
Ukiyo-e ("pictures of the floating world") is a Japanese art genre of woodblock prints and paintings depicting the pleasure quarters, kabuki actors, landscapes, and everyday life of the Edo period.
Historical Context
Ukiyo-e emerged during Japan's peaceful Edo period when a wealthy merchant class sought depictions of urban pleasures. These affordable prints profoundly influenced Western Impressionists and Post-Impressionists who encountered them in the late 19th century.
Key Characteristics
- •Flat areas of bold color
- •Strong outlines and decorative patterns
- •Asymmetrical compositions
- •Depictions of courtesans, actors, and landscapes
- •Mass production through woodblock printing
- •Seasonal and ephemeral subjects
Notable Ukiyo-e Artists
Ukiyo-e Artworks
Evening Snow (Bo-setsu), from the series, "Eight Figural Views" (Sugata Hakkei)
Utagawa Kunisada
Kabuki Actor with a Fan
Utagawa Kunisada
Edo meisho|Famous Sites of Edo
Katsushika Hokusai
木曽海道六拾九次之内 軽井沢|Karuizawa
Utagawa Hiroshige|Keisai Eisen
Tanmeijirō Genshōgo Fighting Under Water
Utagawa Kuniyoshi
The Poet's Cabin in Tatsumi
Utagawa Kuniyoshi
二十四孝童子鑑 楊香|Yang Xiang (Yō Kō), from the series A Child’s Mirror of the Twenty-four Paragons of Filial Piety (Nijūshi kō dōji kagami)
Utagawa Kuniyoshi
Oiso, Odawara, Hakone, Mishima, Numazu
Utagawa Kuniyoshi
View of Mt. Asama from the Usui Pass
Utagawa Kuniyoshi
Minakuchi, Ishibe, Kusatsu, Otsu, Kyoto
Utagawa Kuniyoshi
View of Mt. Asama from the Usui Pass
Utagawa Kuniyoshi
Horimoto Gidayū Takatoshi
Utagawa Kuniyoshi
Akashi Ridayu Hidemoto
Utagawa Kuniyoshi
歌川国芳画 「高祖御一代略図 佐州塚原雪中」|Concise Illustrated Biography of Monk Nichiren: In Snow at Tsukahara on Sado Island
Utagawa Kuniyoshi
Monk Nichiren in Exile on Sado Island, from the series "Illustration of Famous Monks"
Utagawa Kuniyoshi
Evening Faces
Utagawa Kuniyoshi
The Jeweled Chaplet
Utagawa Kuniyoshi
歌川国芳画 「高祖御一代略図 鎌倉霊山ヶ崎雨祈」|Concise Illustrated Biography of Monk Nichiren: Prayer for Rain Answered at Ryōzengasaki in Kamakura
Utagawa Kuniyoshi
歌川国芳画 「高祖御一代略図 小室山法論石」|Concise Illustrated Biography of Monk Nichiren: Rock Suspended by the Power of Prayer on Komuro Mountain
Utagawa Kuniyoshi
The First Warbler
Utagawa Kuniyoshi
A Boat upon the Waters
Utagawa Kuniyoshi
歌川国芳画 「高祖御一代略図 佐州流刑角田波題目」|Concise Illustrated Biography of Monk Nichiren: Calming the Stormy Sea at Tsunoda in Exile to Sado Island
Utagawa Kuniyoshi
A Branch of Plum (Umegoe)
Utagawa Kuniyoshi
Poet with Two Pages on the Banks of the Tatsuta
Utagawa Kuniyoshi