Gallery

Title: Courtesan With Love Letter and Kamuro Playing Blindfold with a Client
Artist: Suzuki Harunobo
Date: c. 1768 - 69

This piece is one of the earlier woodblock prints of the Edo era by the leading artist, Suzuki Harunobo. He was a pioneer in the woodblock print field for he was the first to make full-color prints readily available for the public. Before, prints were made completely in black and white, or sections of the print were dyed in solid colors.. This piece illustrates court life, which was a major subject for ukiyo-e prints.
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Title: Geisha as Daruma Crossing the Sea
Artist: Suzuki Harunobo
c. 18th century

After enjoying instant success with his fully colored prints, Suzuki Harunobo produced a number of prints of ethereal looking men and woman in long, flowing clothing. Here, Harunobo's charm and wit is shown through the woman's odd pose as she stands on a single reed, crossing the sea. Still, her face and robes reveal the feminine beauty that was much sought after in ukiyo-e prints. Harunobo was the most popular artist in Edo up until his death.
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Title: Coutesan Konosumi
Artist: Utamaro Kitagawa
Date: 1793 - 1794

Geishas and courtesans were a major subject of the ukiyo-e prints, considering that they were very much apart of "the floating world"being enjoyed by the Japanese people. Utamaro Kitagawa was especially known for his delicately framed female figures, much like Harunbo's maidens. The woman's clothing and fan are symbols of her status as a geisha.
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Title: Portrait of Tomimoto Toyohina
Artist: Utamaro Kitagawa
Date: c. 1795-1796

This portrait depicts a famous singer at the time. Utamaro Kitagawa was unique in depicting large, single portraits of woman. The norm for ukiyo-e prints at the time were usually group pictures or scenes of Japanese life. This piece was chosen because most ukiyo prints depict objects of affection or admiration. It is common to see famous men and woman displayed in woodblock prints and used for decoration. This is similar to the posters and print-outs seen today that people buy of their favorite bands or celebrity.
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Title: The Actor Ichimura Uzaemon XIII as the Scoundrel Benten-Kozo Kikunosuke
Artist: Yoshiiku Utagawa
Date: 1862

After the earlier masters of uikiyo-e established themselves, many created schools of painting and printing in master-pupil fashion. Therefore, many prolific artists sprouted and joined the woodblock print market. Due to the wide availability, style and demand of ukiyo-e, posters and advertisements were commissioned from these artists. Kabuki theaters and actors in their prominent roles soon became a subject for ukiyo-e artists who were hired to create the graphic designs to be used as advertisements.
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Title: Okazaki. Tenshin No-Hashi
Artist: Utagawa Hiroshige
Date: 1834

Utagawa Hiroshige is considered one of the two ukiyo-e masters to beautifully capture the landscape of Japan. This piece is part of his famous Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido series. This print represents some of the changing views of the ukiyo-e movement. Both Hokusai and Hiroshige started to shift subjects from geishas and actors to the real, scenic landscapes of Japan, and both produced some of the most iconic and important graphic art in the world.

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Title: The Plum Garden in Hameido
Artist: Utagawa Hiroshige
Date: c. 1856

This print was from Hiroshige's other famous series called One Hundred Famous Views of Edo. These prints showcase Japanese life in various parts of Edo. Travel and landscape by this time became apart of ukiyo-e's subject, still being part of the leisurely life that many people have come to enjoy during this period. This print is unique for its compositional value, considering that it is not from an aerial or open view as most landscape prints were. It gives the viewer a first person look into these groups of trees, as if there were in the environment themselves.
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Title: The Great Wave off Kanagawa
Artist: Katsushika Hokusai
Date: c. 1830

The Great Wave by the master woodblock artist Hokusai is by far one the most recognizable prints from the ukiyo-e era, and perhaps one of the most recognizable prints in history of the world. This fact alone makes this particular print a great candidate for representing the "pictures of the floating world." The Fuji Mountain is ironically placed in the far off distance as the great wave greats a powerfully energetic frame, bringing the entire composition in visual harmony. This print is apart of Hokusai's famous Thirty-six Views of Mt. Fuji. Hokusai's work has often inspired other artists from other parts of the world, past and modern, and this piece alone still intrigues and excites viewers worldwide.
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Title: South Wind, Clear Sky (also known as Red Fuji)
Artist: Katsushika Hokusai
Date: c. 1830

This is another print from Hokusai's Thirty-six Views of My. Fuji series, and one of the better known ones after The Great Wave. Again, Hokusai illustrates his mastery of composition and detail in this bold depiction of Japan's famous Mt. Fuji. It must be noted that Japanese woodblock prints strove to depict the real landscape of the area, much unlike the idealized Chinese landscape paintings that influenced this type of work. This print is a prime example of the color gradation technique that became common in later ukiyo-e prints.
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Title: The Kiss
Artist: Utamaro Kitagawa
Date: 1803

A huge section of ukiyo-e prints were sexually explicit images collectively known as shunga. This print chosen is extremely tame compared to the full nude pictures that still survive, but it still illustrates the sexually drive subject matter. For westerners, the art of shunga is curious for it often displays its subjects in extremely ecstatic states, and the genitals are often enlarged and disproportionate. These prints are said to have been used for sex health manuals, considering there were not many medical books that touched on the subject. However, most shunga art displays little to no instruction. It is most likely these images were simply a more explicit view of "the floating world" pleasures, which includes sexual pleasures. It was not uncommon for ukiyo-e artists to draw shunga. Hokusai, Harunobo, and Kitagawa all have made shunga prints.

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