What are ukiyo-e?

ukiyo-e are Japanese wood prints and watercolors that date back to the 17th to 20th century. Many Ukiyo-e depicts landscapes, everyday scenes from urban life, stylized scene from the pleasure of Japanese cities and a scene from Japanese history and folklore. These characteristic wood prints are considered quite beautiful many fans of art and can be found on the display in many galleries and museums around the world. It is also possible to find bound books with collections of some of the best UKIY-E, and many of these books are artwork in itself.

in Japanese, ukiyo-e means "pictures of a floating world". The term "floating world" was created to describe island, carefree and pleasure looking for the world of Japanese cities during the EDO period, when the period of relative peace allowed the art to flourish in Japan. When the regions of Japan became highly urbanized, a new class of craftsmen and UKIYO-e artificial was appeared to flourish.

the early Ukiyo-e were made only by black ink andSometimes hand -colored using watercolors. With the development of color printing processes, the Ukiyo-e world has spread significantly and these prints were accessible to people in a wide range of classes in Japan. In particular, traders could buy prints to decorate their homes and companies, and Ukiyo-E were also used to illustrate books and promote various events and places.

Some of the remarkable art masters include Hiroshige and Hokusai, who are well known for their often essential, scary prints for wood. The establishment of the Woodblock championship system appeared quite early in Japan, with the aforementioned masters attracted apprentices who wanted to study with the best talent in the field. Some craftsmen focused on specific topics such as the worlds of Geisha, Kabuki Actors and Sumo wrestlers or the rich landscape of Japan.

Some people also consider modern Japanese wooden blocks and watercolors as a form of Ukiy-e, especiallyAnd when they portray Japan in the real world in a stylized way. Others feel that Ukiyo-e's production was limited to Edo and Meiji in Japan and that a new term should be accepted to refer to more modern works, reflecting a huge shift in Japanese culture that occurred in the 20th century when Japan became much more open to the West.