Ukiyo-e in Japan

For our final blog assignment, I decided to create my art exhibit on Ukiyo-e art from Japan. Ukiyo-e is an art style that was popular from the 17^th century until the 19^th century. This art was created on woodblock prints or paintings centered around beautiful women, stories, sumo wrestling, landscapes, and nature. Japan’s desire for art increased during the Edo period (1603-1868) due to the growing economy, but only the rich could afford paintings. Ukiyo-e art was more affordable and available for most of Japan’s citizens.

Unknown, Hikone Screen or Shihon Kinjichaku-shoku Fuzoku-zu 1624-1644.

One of the first ever created Ukiyo-e was a painting called Hikone Screen. Hikone Screen was painted on a folding screen, known as a byōbu, during the years 1624-1644. It is unknown the exact year of its completion and its artist, but nonetheless, it was determined a National Treasure of Japan in 1955 and was named Shihon Kinjichaku-shoku Fuzoku-zu.

Shihon Kinjichaku-shoku Fuzoku-zu depicts eleven people experiencing different forms of entertainment. Starting on the leftmost panel we see a man and women playing shamisens, a three-stringed instrument. The next panel to the right we can see four people playing sugoroku, a board game supposedly similar to the Western game “Snakes and Ladders”. The next panel appears to show people reading books or literature of some kind. And on the last couple panels on the right, it appears the four people are talking amongst themselves.

Utagawa Kuniyoshi, Takiyasha the Witch and the Skeleton Spectre 1844.

Takiyasha the Witch and the Skeleton Spectre was painted by Utagawa Kuniyoshi in 1844. This piece of art is painted onto three sections of woodblock, making it an example of a triptych (art divided into three sections). Today a copy of it can be found in Honolulu, Hawaii in the Honolulu Museum of Art.

Kuniyoshi made it based on a mythical tale about a princess named Takiyasha who summoned a spectral skeleton in order to get revenge on her uncle, Sadamori, the man who chopped off her father’s head. We can see the princess holding the dark magic scroll used to summon the skeleton, and the skeleton towing over Sadamori. The way Kuniyoshi used lines and dots to blend from a subject item/person to the background shows smooth transitions and his high skill level. 

Katsushika Hokusai, The Great Wave off Kanagawa 1831. 

One of the most notorious pieces of art, The Great Wave off Kanagawa is a woodblock print painted by Katsushika Hokusai in 1831. Initially, about 1000 copies of the painting were made, but eventually, around 8000 were printed. It is estimated that only about 100 copies have survived to the 21^st century.

The Great Wave off Kanagawa shows a rough ocean, three boats on the waves, and Mount Fiji in the background.  The curve of the wave gives the feeling of motion, you can almost see the movement of the waves. The white caps illustrate how rough the water is, adding to the understanding of the water and the depiction of movement. There are three skinny fishing boats, also known as oshiokuri-bune. They’re very fast boats used to transport live fish. And lastly, is Mount Fiji. You can see the sky is bright yellow from the sun, but around the mountain is dark. This shows the viewer that it is early morning and the sun is still rising above the tall mountain. Small details such as the ones listed above can inform the viewer of so much in mere seconds. 

Ukiyo-e art is beautiful and was one of the first widely available art to the people living in Japan during the 17^th century. With its depictions of beautiful stories, landscapes, or everyday people and tasks, the woodblocks gave the ability to print multiple copies and sell art for an affordable price and influence Japan’s artistic history.

Bibliography: 
“The Hikone Screen.” Hikone Castle Museum, Accessed August 5, 2024. https://hikone-castle-museum.jp/en/collection/2110.html
Philbert. “Hikone Byobu National Treasure folding screen.” Shiga Ken, April 18, 2013. Accessed August 5, 2024.  https://shiga-ken.com/blog/2013/04/hikone-byobu-national-treasure-folding-screen/
“Takiyasha the Witch and the Skeleton Spectre.” The Victoria and Albert Museum, Accessed August 6, 2024. https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O73119/takiyasha-the-witch-and-the-triptych-kuniyoshi-utagawa/
“triptych print.” The British Museum, Accessed August 6, 2024. https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/A_1915-0823-0-915-916
“Under the Wave off Kanagawa (Kanagawa oki nami ura), also known as The Great Wave, from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei).” The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Accessed August 8, 2024. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/45434