by Kunichika Toyokara

<<  About Ukiyo-e   >>

Ukiyo-e literally translated stands for pictures of the floating world. It means a kind of hip feeling like 'Swinging London' in the sixties. Ukiyo-e depicts the pleasures and entertainments - theater, 'beautiful women' ( meaning prostitutes ) but also the joy of contemplating nature and everything of beauty and harmony.

Ukiyo-e printmaking began in the 17th century and took a great upswing when black and white images were replaced by multi-color prints. This was achieved by carving one woodblock for each color.

Classical ukiyo-e until the end of the 19th century was no 'Fine Art', but popular, commercial art for the common man. It was widely used for advertising. Favorite subjects were theater, women, landscapes, nature and scenes from Japan's history and old legends.