Ukiyo-e

Also called Ukiyo-e prints

Ukiyo-e means pictures of the floating world and developed within Edo-period urban culture, depicting beauties, actors, landscapes and everyday entertainment. It includes paintings as well as widely circulated woodblock prints. Clear outlines, flat colour, bold cropping and varied viewpoints turned contemporary pleasures and places into a distinctive visual language.

Kind

Art tradition

Lineage

Traditional Japanese Visual Arts

Related styles

3

Medium family

Printmaking, traditional arts and regional crafts · Posters, graphics and layout

Medium

Print

Technique

Woodcut

Colour

High saturation

Key traits

1. 01Rhythmic contours organize figures, drapery, buildings or natural forms.
2. 02Print-oriented approaches may use separated color areas and local gradations, maintaining a clear relation between line and color.
3. 03Diagonals, cropping and differences in foreground–background scale may organize the composition.
4. 04Figures, urban activities and famous landscapes may appear, with subjects and dress tied to a specific historical context.