Ukiyo-e Images from the floating world During the Edo Period (1615-1868) in Japan, single sheet woodblock prints were mass produced for the merchant class. They were sold by street vendors and and shop keepers for pennies. The Ukiyo-e prints or “pictures of the floating world” became the most popular art form for the common people. Woodblock prints from Japan’s Edo Period 1615-1868

How did they create the prints? The creation of a print was a group effort. The artist designed the image on paper. The artwork was then transferred to a thin transparent paper that was pasted on a wooden block. An engraver would then chisel the image onto the wooden block in reverse. (Lines and areas to be colored would be raised.) The printer would apply ink to the block and then lay a piece of paper on top of the block and apply pressure. A different block would be used to apply each color. Paper made from the inner bark of mulberry trees was often used because it was strong enough for the numerous rubbings and absorbed the ink well. They could make many copies, even thousands, until the blocks became worn and no longer had a crisp edge to the carved lines. In order to print with multiple colors, up to 20 on a single sheet, they developed a system of cutting two notches on the edge of each block to serve as guides.

The Great Wave by Katsushika Hokusai 1830 One of the best recognized pieces of Japanese artwork in world. It was part of a series titled “36 Views of Mt. Fuji”. Initially thousands of copies of this print were quickly made and sold.

From Hiroshege’s 100 Famous Views of Edo When Japan opened to international trade in the 1850’s, after centuries of isolation, Japanese prints arrived in Europe and North America. The prints caught the eye of artists such as Van Gogh, Monet, Mary Cassat, and Degas to name a few. The Impressionists were excited by the Japanese techniques of unique perspectives, asymmetrical compositions, and the use of strong diagonals.

Notice the red stamp in the left hand corner Notice the red stamp in the left hand corner. These were used by the artists to sign their work and are called a chop or seal. Often you can see both the artist’s and the publisher’s seal. The publisher would often be a bookseller who hired the artist for a particular job. Cherry Blossoms at Koganei from “Thirty-six Selected Flowers by Utagawa Hiroshige II

Sudden Shower over Shin-Ohashi Bridge by Ando Hiroshige Considered to be a masterpiece by scholars and Hiroshige’s most famous piece. “What do you see? What is going on?”