Ukiyo-e: Japanese Woodblock Prints

Ukiyo-e: Japanese Woodblock Prints

Ukiyo-e, a school of Japanese art, refers to a style of Japanese woodblock print and painting (a relief carving in wood that is imprinted within onto cloth or fabric) that flourished from the 17th through 19th centuries. Ukiyo-e (浮世絵) translates as "picture[s] of the floating world," which the pleasure districts of Edo (modern-day Tokyo) were once called. These prints depicted famous kabuki actors, city life, and eroticism, and romantic landscapes. Female beauty was a subject of abundance throughout ukiyo-e. As you browse, please note the exquisite patterns and elegant color exhibited in the kimonos of that era. Prominent artists in this style at the time were Ando Hiroshige, Katsushika Hokusai, Kitagawa Utamaro, Utagawa Toyokuni III, and Keisai Eisen, among others.
 
Japanese color woodblock print of woman with pink floral kimono between bamboo doors by Yoshitoshi
Inquisitive: the appearance of a maid of the Tempo era, No. 13 by Yoshitoshi
Color woodblock print, c. 1880
 
Japanese woodblock print of woman kneeling and playing a shamisen in an off-white kimono by Kitagawa Utamaro 1800
Flowers of Edo: Young Woman's Narrative Chanting to the Shamisen by Kitagawa Utamaro
Color woodblock print, c. 1800
 
Japanese woodblock print of Geisha in purple kimono holding a fan in her mouth by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi
Delighted: The Appearance of a Present-Day Geisha of the Meiji Era 
by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi
Color woodblock print, 1888
 
Japanese woodblock print of courtesan in a leaf print kimono standing holding shamisenby Eizan
Courtesan with a Shamisen by Eizan
Color woodblock print, (1787-1867)
 
Japanese woodblock print of woman in black and white striped kimonoby Kuniyoshi
Gravemarker Komachi: Iwai Kumesaburo III by Kuniyoshi
Color woodblock print, 1851
 
Japanese woodblock print of three women in vibrant floral kimonos walking through snow by Utagawa Toyokuni
The twelfth month: Falling snow, Mukojima [Geisha and attendants
in snow] by Utagawa Toyokuni
Color woodblock print, c. 1810
Japanese woodblock print of woman kneeling and inspecting dyed fabrics by Keisai Eisen
Modern Specialties and Dyed Fabrics: Sound of Insects at the Bank on the Sumida by Keisai Eisen
Color woodblock print, c. 1830