Ukiyo-­‐e is a famous Japanese art concept. Discuss what it means and give examples.

Ukiyo-­‐e, "pictures of the floating world" is a genre of woodblock prints and paintings that flourished in Japan from the 17th through 19th centuries. During the Edo Period (1615-­‐1868), a distinctive Japanese art style developed,it is known as ukiyo-­‐ e, or "pictures of the floating world." Originates from a Buddhist concept, the term ukiyo is translated to sadness (uki) of life (yo). In the time of peace and prosperity of the 17th century, another syllabary emerged, having the same pronunciation Uki but it means “to float.” Instead of expressing the sadness of life, ukiyo came to be associated with the temporary, worldly pleasures of Japan's rising middle class. Unable to change their social status and regulated in nearly every aspect of their lives, from behaviour and dress to the sizes of their houses, wealthy commoners found escape in licensed pleasure quarters and Kabuki theatres. There, they could enjoy the latest play performed by the actors or spend time with

beautiful women known for their sparkling wit, musical accomplishments, and poetry. This is the reason for woodblock prints of the Edo period to mostly depict the seductive courtesans and exciting kabuki actors of the urban pleasure districts.

Figure 1.1. A prints depicting the scene in a kabuki theatre.

The depictions of Ukiyo-­‐e changed from sadness of life to portraying the pleasurable side of the life in Edo (present day Tokyo) and other major cities. Not only Ukiyo-­‐e is a vision on the philosophy of the carefree and liberated living, in fact, if studied

in greater depth the artworks relay the rich history that surrounded the Japanese culture. Unlike the western art, Ukiyo-­‐e print contains many design elements that are different. The Japanese print is intended to be a flat space on a flat piece of paper. The illusion of depth in western art does not exist in Ukiyo-­‐e prints. There are two important periods for Ukiyo-­‐e. The Edo period, which comprises ukiyo-­‐e from its origins in the 1620s until about 1867; this was largely a period of calm. This commercial form of art developed during that time. As time passed, their subject matter started to include famous romantic vistas and eventually, in the final years of the nineteenth century, dramatic historical events. These pictures could be produced in great quantity and featured popular scenes that attracts the rich townspeople of that period. Initially Ukiyo-­‐e was considered as a low class art for the non-­‐elite classes, but its artistic and technical aspect is always impressive. To understand the depictions, one requires extremely high level of visual, textual, and cultural literacy. This is

because during the earliest days, Ukiyo-­‐e images and texts frequently attribute to themes from classical, literary, and historical sources. Meanwhile, Ukiyo-­‐e steadily expanded to mirror contemporary tastes, concerns, and innovations over the two and a half centuries of its development. The result was an art that was both well-­‐received by the people, readily accessible, plentiful, affordable and highly sophisticated. In summary, Ukiyo-­‐e conveyed both the historical and the current, fashionable, and popular. In the hands of the Ukiyo-­‐e artist, the ordinary was transformed into the extraordinary. The Meiji period 1867-­‐1912 which was defined by the influences from the west. During the period of time ukiyo-­‐e print was facing its decline in Japan due to the introduction of Western technology into Japan such as photography, leading to diminished interest in ukiyo-­‐e within Japan. However it was having a strong impact upon artists and writers in Europe, especially in Paris. Many reasons accounted for the appeal of Japanese art. During this time imperialism in

Europe had brought about an interest in other cultures of the world. Due to cultural exchange, Japanese culture appeared to Europeans as being not only unusual and strange, but refined and elegant. Japanese culture was conveyed to European intellectuals as possessing artistic values in all aspects of life. This condition was seen as attractive as compared to the depressing qualities of the new industrial society in Europe. The refreshing spirit of Japanese art has offered another alternative for artists who were sick and tired and do not want to work in the Greco-­‐ Roman styles of art that were overly done in that time. This resulted Ukiyo-­‐e to gain its popularity in the west and became international. Japanese art started to make its appearance in the stores and shops of Paris, London, The Hague and Leiden. The mass appeal of Japanese artefacts varies from albums of prints (ukiyo-­‐e) to fans, clothing, textiles and food. French artists who did not have their own painting styles incorporate Japanese artistic elements into their work. Later to be known as the impressionist, many French

artists studied the characteristic of the Ukiyo-­‐e and thus were able to combine the observation of the environment with the Japanese device they had noticed. What was also very inspiring to the Impressionists was the Japanese handling of flat space, not to forget some Japanese artists did follow the western technique of indicating space. Of the many French Impressionist artists that were influenced and revitalized by Japanese ukiyo-­‐e, one of such example is Edgar Degas. Edgar Degas incorporated Japanese compositional principles into his work. Degas studied Hokusai’s Manga and it allows him to observe his surrounding more clearly. He wanted to capture that essence behind people living in everyday life. His favourite subjects were women: performing their daily rituals, dancing in the ballet, etc.

Figure 1.2. Edgar Degas painting vs a ukiyo-­‐e print.

Another of such artist who was influenced by the ukiyo-­‐e was Van Gogh. Van Gogh was one artist that openly copied ukiyo-­‐e. Van Gogh once said that Impressionists are "the Japanese of France".

Figure 1.3 Hiroshige vs Van Gogh

This attributes to Ukiyo-­‐e fame in the west. However the print that made Ukiyo-­‐e gained its popularity was no other than Hokusai’s Great

Wave off Kanagawa. Till now it is still one of the most recognised print in the world. It depicts a gigantic wave about crash down on three fishing boats and their crews.

The eccentric composition of the print is a daring display by Hokusai to show how he has digested supposedly 'rational' European-­‐style perspective and made something much more dramatic and exciting out of it. Now many of the ukiyo-­‐e prints are being purchased by buyers across the globe. The factors that contributes to making Ukiyo-­‐e a famous art concept are; it was the first form of art with imagery depicting commoners and everyday life; it stands out from the widely seen western style painting without the illusion of depth; French impressionist derives from the influence of Ukiyo-­‐ e and also because Ukiyo-­‐e are printed in large quantities and affordable. Not only Ukiyo-­‐e are for artistic purpose, it also helps us to understand the life of the Japanese middle class citizen back in those days. It also served as an platform role for the middle class people as it allows them to

participate with the upper class people through art and culture

Bibliography http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukiyo-­‐e

http://archive.artsmia.org/art-­‐of-­‐ asia/explore/explore-­‐collection-­‐ukiyo-­‐e.cfm http://www.japan-­‐guide.com/e/e2291.html

http://japanese-­‐gallery.com/history-­‐of-­‐ukiyo-­‐ e.shtml http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/198 2/4/82.04.03.x.html http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/ukiyo-­‐e/intro.html http://www.bbc.co.uk/ahistoryoftheworld/object s/MAPlqOEHRsmI1awIHQzRSQ