Ukiyo-e

Pictures of the floating world. Hokusai, Hiroshige, Utamaro, Sharaku and Kunisada; actors, courtesans, ghosts, waves and the road to Edo, and the block-cutting and printing that made them cheap enough for anyone to own.

Part of Japan

87 moments in this segment.

1. 1700 - Three Courtesans with a Client. Print, 1700, from the Cleveland Museum of Art open-access collection; a digitised reproduction of the original artefact.
2. 1716 - Order Book of Kosode Patterns (Chūmon no hiinagata/Hiinagata chūmon chō). Illustrated book, 1716, Japan, Metropolitan Museum of Art open-access; digitised reproduction of the original artefact.
3. 1740 - Perspective View of the Interior of the Nakamura Theater with Ichikawa Ebizo II as Yanone. Print, 1740, from the Cleveland Museum of Art open-access collection; a digitised reproduction of the original artefact.
4. 1750 - Ryūryūkyo Shinsai: a woodblock print, about 1750. Print, 1750–1835, Japan, Metropolitan Museum of Art open-access; digitised reproduction of the original artefact.
5. 1751 - Book of Kosode Patterns (Hiinagata Ise no umi) 雛形伊勢乃海. Illustrated book, 1751, Japan, Metropolitan Museum of Art open-access; digitised reproduction of the original artefact.
6. 1756 - Chōbunsai Eishi: a woodblock print, about 1756, a second example. Print, Japan, Metropolitan Museum of Art open-access; digitised reproduction of the original artefact.
7. 1756 - Chōbunsai Eishi: a woodblock print, about 1756. Print, Japan, Metropolitan Museum of Art open-access; digitised reproduction of the original artefact.
8. 1760 - Kosode Patterns, Fuji of the Capital (Hiinagata Miyako no Fuji). Illustrated book, 1760, Japan, Metropolitan Museum of Art open-access; digitised reproduction of the original artefact.
9. 1763 - The Ninth Ichimura Uzaemon as a Samurai Warrior. Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ca. 1773, Japan, Metropolitan Museum of Art open-access; digitised reproduction of the original artefact.
10. 1786 - Utagawa Kunisada: a woodblock print, about 1786, example 6. Print, Japan, Metropolitan Museum of Art open-access; digitised reproduction of the original artefact.
11. 1786 - Utagawa Kunisada: a woodblock print, about 1786, a third example. Print, Japan, Metropolitan Museum of Art open-access; digitised reproduction of the original artefact.
12. 1786 - Utagawa Kunisada: a woodblock print, about 1786, example 9. Print, Japan, Metropolitan Museum of Art open-access; digitised reproduction of the original artefact.
13. 1786 - Utagawa Kunisada: a woodblock print, about 1786, example 7. Print, Japan, Metropolitan Museum of Art open-access; digitised reproduction of the original artefact.
14. 1786 - Utagawa Kunisada: a woodblock print, about 1786, example 5. Print, Japan, Metropolitan Museum of Art open-access; digitised reproduction of the original artefact.
15. 1786 - Utagawa Kunisada: a woodblock print, about 1786, a second example. Print, Japan, Metropolitan Museum of Art open-access; digitised reproduction of the original artefact.
16. 1786 - Utagawa Kunisada: a woodblock print, about 1786, example 4. Print, Japan, Metropolitan Museum of Art open-access; digitised reproduction of the original artefact.
17. 1786 - Utagawa Kunisada: a woodblock print, about 1786. Print, Japan, Metropolitan Museum of Art open-access; digitised reproduction of the original artefact.
18. 1786 - Utagawa Kunisada: a woodblock print, about 1786, example 8. Print, Japan, Metropolitan Museum of Art open-access; digitised reproduction of the original artefact.
19. 1790 - Court Ladies Making Dolls. Print, 1790s, from the Cleveland Museum of Art open-access collection; a digitised reproduction of the original artefact.
20. 1791 - Katsushika Hokusai: a woodblock print, about 1791. Print, ca. 1801, Japan, Metropolitan Museum of Art open-access; digitised reproduction of the original artefact.
21. 1792 - Utamaro-Bijin-e-1792. Utamaro woodblock print bijin. Kitagawa Utamaro: Three bijin, 1792. Print, 39x26 cm.
22. 1793 - Kitagawa Utamaro - Toji san bijin (Three Beauties of the Present Day)From Bijin-ga (Pictur. Utamaro woodblock print bijin. ​寛政三美人：富本豊ひな（上）、難波屋おきた（右）、高島屋おひさ（左）
23. 1793 - Utamaro1. Utamaro woodblock print bijin. "Three known beauties (寛政三美人)" ( Tôji san bijin ), ukiyo-e by Utamaro
24. 1794 - Sharaku (1794) Sanogawa Ichimatsu III as Onnayo of Gion and Ichikawa Tomieimon as Kanisaka. Sharaku actor print kabuki. Ukiyo-e print by Tōshūsai Sharaku of kabuki actors Sanogawa Ichimatsu III in the role of the courtesan Onnayo of Gion and Ichikawa Tomieimon in the role of Kanisaka Tōma, 1794 (20th-century Adachi reprint)
25. 1794 - Sharaku - Sawamura Sojurō III. Sharaku actor print kabuki. Ukiyo-e portrait of the kabuki actor Sawamura Sojurō III by Tōshūsai Sharaku, 1794 (20th-century Adachi reprint)
26. 1794 - The actor Otani Oniji II as Yakko Edobei - Sharaku - TNM. Sharaku actor print kabuki. Part of the series "Portraits of actors at three theaters in Edo". This print depicts the actor Otani Oniji II as Yakko Edobei. This is a first period print and designated collectively together with 26 other prints from the series as Important Cultural Property of Japan.
27. 1796 - Party on the Pleasure Boat Kawaichimaru. Print, c. 1796–97, from the Cleveland Museum of Art open-access collection; a digitised reproduction of the original artefact.
28. 1796 - Cherry Blossoms in the Wind. Print, late 1790s, from the Cleveland Museum of Art open-access collection; a digitised reproduction of the original artefact.
29. 1797 - Sumo Wrestlers Inariyama and Matsuozaki. Print, ca. 1807, Japan, Metropolitan Museum of Art open-access; digitised reproduction of the original artefact.
30. 1797 - Mandarin Ducks in a Spring Landscape: Program for a Jururui Performance. Woodblock print, ca. 1807, Japan, Metropolitan Museum of Art open-access; digitised reproduction of the original artefact.
31. 1797 - River Gorge in Snow. Print, Japan, Metropolitan Museum of Art open-access; digitised reproduction of the original artefact.
32. 1797 - Blue Bird. Print, Japan, Metropolitan Museum of Art open-access; digitised reproduction of the original artefact.
33. 1797 - Evening Snow. Woodblock print, 1797–1861, Japan, Metropolitan Museum of Art open-access; digitised reproduction of the original artefact.
34. 1800 - Sumo Wrestling. Painting, 19th century, Japan, Metropolitan Museum of Art open-access; digitised reproduction of the original artefact.
35. 1800 - Utagawa Kunisada: a woodblock print, about 1800, a third example. Print, 19th century, Japan, Metropolitan Museum of Art open-access; digitised reproduction of the original artefact.
36. 1800 - Utagawa Kunisada: a woodblock print, about 1800. Print, 19th century, Japan, Metropolitan Museum of Art open-access; digitised reproduction of the original artefact.
37. 1800 - Utagawa Kunisada: a woodblock print, about 1800, example 4. Print, 19th century, Japan, Metropolitan Museum of Art open-access; digitised reproduction of the original artefact.
38. 1800 - Utagawa Kunisada: a woodblock print, about 1800, a second example. Print, 19th century, Japan, Metropolitan Museum of Art open-access; digitised reproduction of the original artefact.
39. 1810 - Spring Rain Collection (Harusame shū), vol. 3: Mountain Dove and Peach Flowers. Woodblock print, ca. 1820, Japan, Metropolitan Museum of Art open-access; digitised reproduction of the original artefact.
40. 1811 - Sumo Wrestler Tamagaki Gakunosuke IV. Print, 1811–14 (possibly ca. 1813), Japan, Metropolitan Museum of Art open-access; digitised reproduction of the original artefact.
41. 1811 - Sumo Wrestler Hiodoshi Katsugorō. Print, 1811–14 (possibly ca. 1813), Japan, Metropolitan Museum of Art open-access; digitised reproduction of the original artefact.
42. 1813 - New Year’s Sake Bottles and Shrine Plaque (Ema) for the Year of the Rooster. Woodblock print, probably 1813 or 1825, Japan, Metropolitan Museum of Art open-access; digitised reproduction of the original artefact.
43. 1819 - Picture Album Transmitting the Spirit: The Hokusai Drawing Style (Denshin gafu Hokusai gas. Illustrated book, 1819, Japan, Metropolitan Museum of Art open-access; digitised reproduction of the original artefact.
44. 1820 - Under the Wave off Kanagawa (Kanagawa oki nami ura), or The Great Wave, from the series Th. Woodblock print, ca. 1830–32, Japan, Metropolitan Museum of Art open-access; digitised reproduction of the original artefact.
45. 1820 - Yashima Gakutei: a woodblock print, about 1820. Print, ca. 1830, Japan, Metropolitan Museum of Art open-access; digitised reproduction of the original artefact.
46. 1820 - Katsushika Hokusai: a woodblock print, about 1820. Print, 1820, Japan, Metropolitan Museum of Art open-access; digitised reproduction of the original artefact.
47. 1820 - Various Pictures by Hokusai (Hokusai soga) 北斎麁画, a second example by Katsushika Hokusai 葛飾北斎. Illustrated book, 1820 (Bunsei 3), Japan, Metropolitan Museum of Art open-access; digitised reproduction of the original artefact.
48. 1820 - Various Pictures by Hokusai (Hokusai soga) 北斎麁画. Illustrated book, 1820, Japan, Metropolitan Museum of Art open-access; digitised reproduction of the original artefact.
49. 1823 - Hokusai42 fuji-lake. Hokusai "Thirty-six Views" Fuji. Part of the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji, no. 42, 6 th additional woodcut.
50. 1829 - Ichikawa Ebijūrō II as Horiguchi Manzaemon (right), Arashi Rikan II as Kizu Kansuke, Nakay. Print, 1829, from the Cleveland Museum of Art open-access collection; a digitised reproduction of the original artefact.
51. 1830 - Woman by a Plum Tree Matched with the Wisteria Maiden (from a series of women compared to. Print, c. early 1830s, from the Cleveland Museum of Art open-access collection; a digitised reproduction of the original artefact.
52. 1830 - South Wind, Clear Sky, from Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji. Print, early 1830s, from the Cleveland Museum of Art open-access collection; a digitised reproduction of the original artefact.
53. 1830 - Rain Below the Mountain (from the series Thirty-six Views of Mt. Fuji). Print, early 1830s, from the Cleveland Museum of Art open-access collection; a digitised reproduction of the original artefact.
54. 1830 - Ōmori, from the series Famous Places in the Eastern Capital. Print, early 1830s, from the Cleveland Museum of Art open-access collection; a digitised reproduction of the original artefact.
55. 1830 - Red Fuji southern wind clear morning. Hokusai "Thirty-six Views" Fuji. Part of the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji, no. 33.
56. 1830 - Tsunami by hokusai 19th century. Hokusai "Thirty-six Views" Fuji. Although it is often used in tsunami literature, there is no reason to suspect that Hokusai intended it to be interpreted in that way. The waves in this work are sometimes mistakenly referred to as tsunami (津波), but they are more accurately called okinami (沖波), great
57. 1832 - Wisteria and White-headed Bird. Woodblock print, ca. 1842, Japan, Metropolitan Museum of Art open-access; digitised reproduction of the original artefact.
58. 1833 - Driving Rain at Shōno, from Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaidō. Print, 1833, from the Cleveland Museum of Art open-access collection; a digitised reproduction of the original artefact.
59. 1833 - Evening Snow at Kambara (number sixteen of the series Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido). Print, 1833, from the Cleveland Museum of Art open-access collection; a digitised reproduction of the original artefact.
60. 1833 - HIROSHIGE-Snow-Kanbara-Tokaido. Hiroshige Tokaido woodblock print. Utagawa Hiroshige: Snow in Kanbara, 53 Stations of Tokaido, 1833. Color print, 26x38 cm.
61. 1835 - Poem by Emperor Sanjo, from the series One Hundred Poems by One Hundred Poets Explained by. Print, 1835–36, from the Cleveland Museum of Art open-access collection; a digitised reproduction of the original artefact.
62. 1835 - Poem by Minamoto no Muneyuki from the series One Hundred Poems by One Hundred Poets Explai. Print, 1835–36, from the Cleveland Museum of Art open-access collection; a digitised reproduction of the original artefact.
63. 1838 - Yokkaichi: View of the Mie River, from the series The Fifty-Three Stations of the Tōkaidō. Print, c. 1833–34, from the Cleveland Museum of Art open-access collection; a digitised reproduction of the original artefact.
64. 1843 - Nissaka: The Night-Weeping Stone at Sayo no Nakayama, from the series The Fifty-Three Stat. Print, c. 1848–50, from the Cleveland Museum of Art open-access collection; a digitised reproduction of the original artefact.
65. 1845 - Tōkaidô gojūsan tsugi saiken zu'e, Nihonbashi by Hiroshige. Hiroshige Tokaido woodblock print. Nihonbashi: Travelers from the Country Sightseeing in Edo (Inaka dôsha Edo kenbutsu), from the series Pictorial Guide to the Fifty-three Stations of the Tôkaidô: Customs of the Road (Tôkaidô gojûsan tsugi saiken zue, dôchû fûzoku)
66. 1850 - A Glance at Miyosaki, Yokohama. Print, ca. 1860, Japan, Metropolitan Museum of Art open-access; digitised reproduction of the original artefact.
67. 1854 - The Actor Ichikawa Ichizō III as Nozarashi Gosuke, likened to Shi Jin the Nine Dragoned (K. Print, 1854, 7th month), Japan, Metropolitan Museum of Art open-access; digitised reproduction of the original artefact.
68. 1857 - Six Jewel Rivers from Various Provinces. Prints, 1857, Japan, Metropolitan Museum of Art open-access; digitised reproduction of the original artefact.
69. 1857 - Eight Views of Kanazawa at Night. Print, 1857, from the Cleveland Museum of Art open-access collection; a digitised reproduction of the original artefact.
70. 1857 - The Whirlpools of Awa. Print, 1857, from the Cleveland Museum of Art open-access collection; a digitised reproduction of the original artefact.
71. 1860 - Detailed Print of Yokohama Hon-chō and the Miyozaki Pleasure Quarter. Print, 4th month, 1860, Japan, Metropolitan Museum of Art open-access; digitised reproduction of the original artefact.
72. 1860 - Shōsai Ikkei: a woodblock print, about 1860, a second example. Print, ca. 1870, Japan, Metropolitan Museum of Art open-access; digitised reproduction of the original artefact.
73. 1860 - Shōsai Ikkei: a woodblock print, about 1860. Print, ca. 1870, Japan, Metropolitan Museum of Art open-access; digitised reproduction of the original artefact.
74. 1861 - Revised Yokohama Landscape. Print, 2nd month, 1861, Japan, Metropolitan Museum of Art open-access; digitised reproduction of the original artefact.
75. 1861 - A Foreign Residence in Yokohama. Print, 1861, Japan, Metropolitan Museum of Art open-access; digitised reproduction of the original artefact.
76. 1861 - Sumo Wrestler Tossing a Foreigner. Print, 1st month, 1861, Japan, Metropolitan Museum of Art open-access; digitised reproduction of the original artefact.
77. 1861 - Utagawa: a woodblock print, about 1861. Print, 1861 (Bunkyu 1, 1st month), Japan, Metropolitan Museum of Art open-access; digitised reproduction of the original artefact.
78. 1868 - Reception by the Japanese of the Americans at Yokohama. Print, 1870s, Japan, Metropolitan Museum of Art open-access; digitised reproduction of the original artefact.
79. 1879 - The Life of President Grant in Japanese. illustrated book, 1879, Japan, Metropolitan Museum of Art open-access; digitised reproduction of the original artefact.
80. 1890 - Tsuneshige: a woodblock print, about 1890. Print, ca. 1900, Japan, Metropolitan Museum of Art open-access; digitised reproduction of the original artefact.
81. 1896 - Kajita Hanko: a woodblock print, about 1896. Print, ca. 1906, Japan, Metropolitan Museum of Art open-access; digitised reproduction of the original artefact.
82. 2019-09-01 - Living in Tradition: Woodblock Printer Hidekatsu Kawashima. Arakawa City documentary on a master woodblock printer, part of a series recording the surviving craft trades of the ward.
83. 2021-03-13 - Ukiyo-e Block Carver Torao Ishii. Taito City museum interview with a woodblock carver who cut the reproduction blocks for Hiroshige's One Hundred Famous Views of Edo.
84. 2022-01-04 - How a Ukiyo-e Print Is Made: The Printing Process. Tokyo National Museum film showing the multi-block printing of Hokusai's Great Wave off Kanagawa, demonstrated by the Adachi Foundation for the Preservation of Woodcut Printing.
85. 2022-03-11 - Why We Love Cherry Blossom: Hanami in the Ukiyo-e Record. History-trained guide traces the practice of hanami and Edo's famous blossom sites through ukiyo-e prints, from the outer moat to Ueno.
86. 2024-01-30 - Carving and Printing Ukiyo-e: A Full Demonstration. Extended demonstration by working ukiyo-e carvers and printers, produced with the Ota Memorial Museum of Art and the Adachi Institute of Woodcut Prints.
87. 2025-03-28 - HARUNOBUMURATA autumn/winter 2025 at Rakuten Fashion Week Tokyo. Full runway film from the official Rakuten Fashion Week Tokyo channel for the A/W 2025 season, the main platform for Japanese designers showing at home.