The Japanese Engraving Ukiyo-e

Ukiyo-e is a genre of Japanese art which flourished from the 17th through 19th centuries. Its artists produced woodblock prints and paintings of such subjects as female beauties; kabuki actors and sumo wrestlers; scenes from history and folk tales; travel scenes and landscapes; flora and fauna; and erotica. The term ukiyo-e translates as "picture[s] of the floating world".

The Japanese engraving ukiyo-e is part of the urban culture of the Edo period (1603-1867). The Renaissance spirit of this time is reflected both in poetry and theater, but particularly bright in the engraving. All great artists create portraits of beauties and erotic paintings, but their attractiveness should not overshadow the other aspects of the engraving. Hokusai, for example, is one of the most prominent masters of erotic paintings, but he is also the artist who made Japanese engraving from portrait-focused art towards landscape-oriented art. Afore him, the usual symbols of the Edo period were the geisha and the samurai.