Ukiyo-e

Today I went to an Ukiyo-e exhibition in Fukuoka City Museum. You probably recognise(Hiroshige's Apricot Garden and Thunderstorm at Ohashi and Atake, and Hokusai's Great Wave - all in the exhibition).

Because they were prints anyone could buy them. And so they become a mainly middle-class phenomena, its customers and subject matter the"floating world" of business men and the theatres, restaurants, teahouses, geisha and courtesans of 19th Century Edo their money made possible. In fact many works (Utamaro and Sharaku most especially) were actually posters to begin with: advertising theatre performances and brothels.

The way they used colours had an interesting impact on Western Art, Van Gogh copying the famous Bridge in the Rain, and Monet's work, La Japonaise. Though to be fair, Monet later described this work as 'trash'.

Ukiyo-e is Part of a more general regard Japanese love of illustration - that is, Manga and Anime. Both are not 'kids stuff', but a popular medium for all parts of Japan's society. But that's something for another post ...