Ukiyo-e
1603 – 1868
Pictures of the floating world - the woodblock art of Edo Japan
About Ukiyo-e
Ukiyo-e, meaning "pictures of the floating world," is a genre of Japanese art that flourished from the 17th through the 19th centuries, most famously in the form of color woodblock prints. The term ukiyo originally carried a Buddhist sense of the sorrowful, transient world, but in the pleasure-loving culture of Edo (modern Tokyo) it was reinterpreted as the "floating world"-the fleeting realm of urban leisure, theater, fashion, and…
Read full biography →From the Collection
Scattered Pine Trees by the Tone River, from the series The…
1919
Odawara Station: Minamoto Yoritomo Visits the Daughter of…
1840
Canary and Wisteria
1840
Gathering Shellfish at Low Tide at Susaki, from Famous…
1830
Night Rain at the Azuma Shrine (from the series Eight Views…
1830
Snow at the Gion Shrine, from the series Famous Places in…
1830
Timeline
The Edo period begins; the rise of urban merchant culture creates the audience for ukiyo-e
Hishikawa Moronobu, regarded as the form's first master, popularizes single-sheet prints and illustrated books in Edo
Suzuki Harunobu and his collaborators perfect the full-color print (nishiki-e), the "brocade picture"
The mysterious Sharaku produces his bold kabuki actor portraits during a brief career of about ten months
Kitagawa Utamaro is at the height of his fame for refined portraits of beautiful women (bijin-ga)
"Living only for the moment, savoring the moon, the snow, the cherry blossoms and the maple leaves, singing songs, drinking sake, and diverting oneself just in floating, floating... this is what we call the floating world."
— Ukiyo-e