The masters behind our paintings
Ukiyo-e – pictures of the floating world
Edo period (1603–1868) · golden age of the colour woodblock print in the 18th and 19th centuries
Kabuki stars, samurai, ghosts and beauties: in Japan's Edo period, colour woodblock prints were sold cheaply and collected by everyone. A century later they conquered Europe – and thrilled Monet and van Gogh.
Three masters, a world of wood and colour
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Pictures of the floating world
“Ukiyo” means “floating world”: the fleeting pleasures of the city of Edo, today's Tokyo – theatre, teahouses, fashion and festivals. Ukiyo-e are the pictures of that world. Printed from woodblocks, they were cheap to buy, rather like posters today.
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One picture, four trades
A colour woodblock print is teamwork: the publisher plans and pays, the artist draws the design, a carver cuts a separate block for every colour, and a printer rubs colour onto paper sheet by sheet. Yet only the artist signs.
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Utamaro and the beauties
Kitagawa Utamaro (c. 1753–1806) is the master of pictures of women. He moves in close, shows only head and shoulders and captures small, private moments. In 1804 he clashes with the censors: he is punished for forbidden depictions of the warlord Hideyoshi – the accounts speak of 50 days in manacles. He dies two years later.
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Sharaku – ten months, then silence
In 1794 an unknown artist called Tōshūsai Sharaku appears. In only about ten months he publishes some 140 prints, almost all kabuki actors with exaggerated, often grim faces. Then he vanishes. Who he was is still not settled – one theory holds he was a Noh actor.
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Kuniyoshi – heroes, ghosts and cats
Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797–1861) becomes famous around 1827 with wild warrior prints for the Chinese adventure novel “Suikoden”. He draws samurai, sea monsters and giant skeletons. He is said to have been a great cat lover – in any case, cats appear in many of his prints.
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The wave that went around the world
When Japan opens up to the West from the 1850s, woodblock prints reach Europe. Artists are thrilled by the clear areas of colour and bold compositions. Monet collects them, van Gogh and his brother Theo own hundreds of sheets, and Vincent even paints copies of some. The most famous ukiyo-e of all is Hokusai's “Great Wave”.
Famous ukiyo-e
From the crest of a wave to a kabuki villain – five sheets worth knowing. Woodblock prints exist in many impressions; one museum with a well-known example is named for each.
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The Great Wave off Kanagawa Japan's most famous picture – with tiny Mount Fuji in the trough of the wave. -
Takiyasha the Witch and the Skeleton Spectre A giant skeleton breaks through a curtain – printed across three sheets. -
Ōtani Oniji III as Yakko Edobei Splayed fingers, grim gaze: Sharaku's most famous actor as a villain. -
Woman Wiping Sweat A small, private moment seen up close – typical of Utamaro's beauties. -
Wu Yong, the Strategist From the series that made Kuniyoshi famous: a cunning adviser in a splendid robe.
The story behind the picture
The 47 Rōnin
In spring 1701 Lord Asano draws his sword against the court official Kira in the shogun's castle in Edo – a grave offence. That same day Asano has to commit seppuku. His samurai become masterless: rōnin.
For almost two years they secretly plan their revenge. On a winter night in 1702/03, 47 of them storm Kira's residence, kill him and lay his head at their lord's grave in the Sengaku-ji temple. For this they are sentenced to seppuku – and become Japan's most famous heroes.
In 1847/48 Kuniyoshi draws the rōnin as a series of individual portraits, including Tominomori Sukeemon. That very warrior is the one we painted with Hugo, a Great Dane – with armour, posture and the stern gaze of a samurai.
Your pet as a samurai
Rōnin, strategist or kabuki star: we keep the lines and colour fields of the Japanese woodblock print and put your pet into it. Fur, markings and expression come from your photo. The preview is free.
Images of the woodblock prints: public domain, via Wikimedia Commons and the Rijksmuseum.