Edo, and Ukiyo-e

The city of Edo, (modern-day Tokyo) was a vibrant mecca for the arts and culture. It was also the seat of the Tokugawa shogunate.

During the Edo-era (1603-1868) at a time when obviously there were no televisions, magazines, movie theaters, or web-sites, Kabuki plays were mass-media entertainment.

It is said that people of Edo thronged to entertainment districts to see the very latest on stage, or outside the theater be enthralled by astounding feats of skill in street performances.

It was out of this spirited “urban” culture that gave rise to ukiyo-e, a style of Japanese art that literally translates as, “pictures of the floating, fleeting, or transient world”.

Ukiyo-e became essential as a platform for conveying visual images of the Edo-era lifestyle, its stylishness, extravagance, and wit. 

It was also ukiyo-e which took the Western art world by storm, having a major influence on the development of European modern painting. Among those painters who were to have been fascinated in seeing a glimpse of Japanese popular culture were Manet, Degas, Monet, and Van Gogh. In fact at that time, much of the world’s initial impressions of Japan came from viewing these extraordinary prints. 

The making of ukiyo-e is a collaborative process, and one which requires extensive experience and knowledge of paper, ink, and brushes…

First, the publisher commissions a painter, (such as Kuniyoshi, Hokusai, or Hiroshige whom we will discuss a little later), to paint the original painting, called hanshita-e, by painting it on paper. After the painting was reviewed and approved by the censors, it was pasted onto a block of wood and carved, using at times numerous blocks, and then finally printed.
Often it was the unknown apprentices of a famous ukiyo-e artist, who would do the actual carving and printing according to the master’s original. 

No doubt however, it was the superb draftsmanship and compositional ability of the master’s drawings and paintings, enhanced by the combined skills of his apprentices, that make these full-color prints the masterpieces of art still appreciated the world over today.