The term ukiyo (浮世), which can be translated as 'floating world', was homophonous with the ancient Buddhist term ukiyo (憂き世), meaning 'this world of sorrow and grief'.
ukiyo-e, one of the most important genres of art of the Tokugawa period (1603–1867) in Japan. The style is a mixture of the realistic narrative of the emaki (“picture scrolls”) produced in the Kamakura period and the mature decorative style of the Momoyama and Tokugawa periods.
Ukiyo-e is a distinctive form of Japanese art that became especially popular from the 17th to the 19th centuries, shaping the aesthetics of Japan’s Edo period. This genre is characterized by woodblock prints and paintings that feature a wide variety of themes.
Ukiyo-e (literally “pictures of the floating world”) is the name given to paintings and prints primarily depicting the transitory world of the Yoshiwara — the licensed pleasure quarter and center of social life in the city of Edo (present-day Tokyo) during the Edo period (1615 – 1868) in Japan.
Many subgenres blossomed beneath ukiyo-e's artistic umbrella to become known as its primary motifs. This included imagery of beautiful women, erotica, portraits of subjects with big heads, bird and flower pictures, and renditions of iconic natural landscapes such as Mount Fuji.
Ukiyo-e (traditional Japanese woodblock prints) is a style of painting that vividly reflected the everyday culture of commoners during Japan’s Edo period (1603 to 1868).
Ukiyo-e art which translates to English as “pictures from the floating world,” often focuses on the hedonistic aspect of Japanese life during the Edo period, and the beauty of the country’s natural landscapes.
The Floating World of Ukiyo-e: Shadows, Dreams, and Substance showcases the Library's spectacular holdings of Japanese "Ukiyo-e" (translated as pictures of the floating, or sorrowful, world) and is the first public viewing of this important and previously unseen collection.