Exploring Ukiyo-e: Dive into the World of Japanese Art

Famous Sights of Nikkō: Hannya and Hōtō Waterfalls By Yōshū Chikanobu, 1981

Exploring Ukiyo-e: Dive into the world of Japanese Art

I am really excited about today's blog. Being able to choose a country and their artwork was fun. I am choosing Japanese Artwork from the Ukiyo-e period. My daughter is doing her Sophomore year in Japan through the student exchange program that UAF offers. Japan has been so good to her and they have such a beautiful country I thought I would showcase a peek into their artwork. Ukiyo-e means pictures of the floating world. The Ukiyo-e was established during the Edo period and was cherished as a form of mass entertainment by common people across Edo (present-day Tokyo). Its origin can be traced back to around the late 17th century. In this art style, we see a play of black and white contrasts that embody a sense of freedom reminiscent of a peaceful and uneventful era spanning about 260 years. What's captivating about this particular style is its ability to vividly portray the simple yet beautiful everyday life of the carefree common folk in Japan during the Edo period. 

History

This Artwork is titled Takiyasha the Witch and the Skeleton Specter. It is from the Edo Period and was created by Utagawa Kuniyoshi from c. 1843 to 1847. It is located in the Honolulu Museum of Art in the United States. In the backstory of this piece, we learn about Princess Takiyasha. She was the daughter of warlord Taira Masakado. Taira Masakado led a rebellion against the court in Kyoto, but unfortunately, the rebellion was unsuccessful, leading to Masakado's demise. Following his death, the spirits of the soldiers who fought in rebellion haunted Masakado's palace at Soma. 

Analysis

In this artwork we see the princess on the left, standing in the middle of some broken blinds. She holds a scroll. Looking at it I can really appreciate the imagination of the Japanese artist for the time. Pushing the boundaries is crucial for an artist to establish themselves. Utagawa Kuniyoshi, a Japanese Artist, is a perfect example of someone who built their career pushing those boundaries. He used his work to comment on and protest against the Japanese government at the time. He brings a sense of drama and horror into this work. Instead of showing a peaceful traditional Ukiyo-e setting in this piece, Utagawa takes the dramatic setting of the fortress and applies his mastery over a more whimsical art style. The action of the skeleton crawling brings a scene of chaos and dysfunction. Kuniyoshi, through this technique, can show both one story and yet 3 individual stories at the same time. Each panel also has a story. This art has a lot of black and white and then it uses color to bring your eyes to certain parts of the art. It definitely can bring different emotions depending on how you view it. This is an interesting piece and I think it would be a neat one to have in a living room. 

History

This piece is called Russo-Japanese Naval Battle at the Entrance of Inchon: The Great Victory of the Japanese Navy BANZAI! This artwork was made by Kobayashi Kiyochika in 1904. It is kept at the Museum of Fine Arts, in Boston, Massachusetts. This art shows activities from the battlefront of a war. But they also acted as propaganda, encouraging support for the wars and bringing with them patriotism. 

Analysis

In this artwork it emphasizes the bravery and success of the army and navy, using dramatic designs and bold compositions. I like the use of black and white and color red to show off the fire from the ships. It makes the pictures more dramatic bringing out those emotions of war. Then with the blue from the sailors bring your eyes to their excitement. 

History

This painting has a couple different names in different prints, but 

this is called Lovers in the Snow Beneath Umbrella (Crow and Heron) and is done by Suzuki Harunobu in 1764-1772 in the Edo period. It is kept in the Brooklyn Museum in New York City. It is a woodblock color print with the dimensions 67.5 x 12.4cm (26.5 x 4.8 in) 

Analysis

This piece has a stillness to the scene that perfectly captures the traditional Japanese aesthetic ideal of wabi. In Japanese art, Wabi is a quality of austere and serene beauty that really tries to express the mood of spiritual solitude recognized in Zen Buddhist philosophy. It has an appreciation for the quiet beauty of an unscripted moment captured in time. I really like the contrast between the young lovers. One black and one white, almost make me think that they are from different walks of life or status. But they have fallen in love. Something we all cherish. Harunobu captures the scene of a couple under an umbrella in a snowscape that shows the meaning of young love, the total identification of oneself with one's beloved. Contradictions of male and female, black and white have been subsumed under a greater idealized harmony. Showing one of the seasons, winter which is usually used for old age and death. Spring would have been more of a natural picture for love with flowers and things coming to life. This is something that I might even buy a print of for my daughter when she goes back to Japan to live. 

History

The artwork I chose is still from the Ukiyo-e Era but from later on in 1859. The Print artist is Utagawa Hiroshige II. The title is Nagasaki, The View of Maruyama. It is in a series titled: One Hundred Famous Views in the Various Provinces. Size is 36 x 23.9 cm. It is an Original Japanese woodblock print. 

Analysis

Here in this print, we see two women, they likely represent sex workers, they are in the foreground wearing classical, patterned robes. The background is positioned higher up to try and show that it is farther away. However western influences can be seen in the single-point perspective in the shapes of the building, it also has sloping lines of the porch and roof demonstrating a new stylistic development in the Ukiyo-e history.

Last Thoughts

All of the artworks that I chose are from the Ukiyo-e. The artworks are also all woodblock prints which are neat and hugely popular in to Edo period. Ukiyo-e is the name given to paintings and prints primarily depicting the transitory world of the licensed pleasure quarters, the theater and pleasure quarters, and the theater and pleasure quarters of Edo, present-day Tokyo, Japan. It is a composite term of uki (floating), yo (world), and e (pictures). All these artworks are neat on their own. Each shows different parts of the Japanese culture and brings different emotions. They are all really neat and if I had a Japanese room (which I might someday) I would love to get some of these prints and hang them up. The Japanese culture is much different from that of America and Europe. When new trade agreements beginning in the 1850s resulted in an unprecedented flow of goods and travelers between the West and Japan. Western appreciation for Japanese graphic art and objects quickly intensified and Japanese-influenced style irrevocably entered the lexicon of Western artistic expression. But yet at the same time, exposure to the West influenced Japanese artists and audiences. Trade was a big factor in different countries getting to experience other cultures and what those countries have to offer not just in food and goods but artwork too. The world wouldn't be what it is without all the mixings of these cultures and experiences that people have. Such a beautiful thing to experience. 

“Suzuki Harunobu: Young Lovers Walking Together under an Umbrella in a Snow Storm (Crow and Heron): Japan: Edo Period (1615–1868).” The Metropolitan Museum of Art, www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/45086. Accessed 25 Apr. 2024.

“Fuji Arts.” Fuji Arts Japanese Prints - Russo-Japanese Naval Battle at the Entrance of Inchon: The Great Victory of the Japanese Navy--Banzai!, 1904 by Kiyochika (1847 - 1915), www.fujiarts.com/meiji-era-japanese-prints/kiyochika/912114-russo-japanese-naval-battle-at-the-entrance-of-inchon-the-great-victory-of-the-japanese-navy-banzai-1904. Accessed 25 Apr. 2024

清親, Kobayashi Kiyochika. “Naval Battle at the Entrance of Inchon.” Obelisk Art History, 1 Jan. 1970, www.arthistoryproject.com/artists/kobayashi-kiyochika/naval-battle-at-the-entrance-of-inchon/.

“View of Maruyama in Nagasaki: Utagawa Hiroshige II: V&A Explore the Collections.” Victoria and Albert Museum: Explore the Collections, Victoria and Albert Art Museum, collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O421027/view-of-maruyama-in-nagasaki-woodblock-print-utagawa-hiroshige-ii/. Accessed 27 Apr. 2024.