Ukiyo-E Japanese Culture

Ukiyo-e is the name given to one of the most important art forms in all of Japan. Arriving as a new form of art in the 1700's these prints served as a record of daily life and pleasures in a newly wealthy Japanese society. The Japanese themselves had long regarded pleasure as transient because of their Buddhist heratige, because of this the word Ukiyo-e actually means "pictures of the floating world". These prints were truly art which reflected the whims of the masses. They record popular styles of dress, new hairstyles etc. They also record the popular Kabuki theater actors, the most beautiful geisha's (or prostitutes), and later even landscapes. Within the realm of Ukiyo-e there are many masters, but there is one master,

Around the age of six years old, Hokusai began painting and even spent time as an apprentice wood-carver in his youth. He began the art of print making when he was eighteen. His most famous painting, The Great Wave, can be seen in museums all over the world even though Japan delayed it from catching on worldwide. Many believe that it was painted in the early 1800s, but Japan was not interacting culturally with other countries apart from trade with China and Korea. It wasn’t until 1859 when the Japanese were forced to open their ports that prints of The Wave spread across Europe. Originally, this piece wasn’t viewed as real art by Japanese politicians and art historians. Wood-block printing was used for commercial use and as a popular form of expression. The Japanese government wasn’t too thrilled “that such a seemingly lowbrow art form had come to define them” (15 Things). About five thousand to eight thousand prints were made but it is speculated that only a few hundreds of The Great Wave remain. The painting actually inspired music like Debussy’s La Mer.

Utagawa Kuniyoshi born 1797 was one of the last great masters of the japanese ukiyo-e style woodblock prints and painting.

Throughout history artists have used art as a means to reflect the on goings of the society surrounding them. Many times, novels serve as primary sources in the future for students to reflect on past history. Students can successfully use novels as a source of understanding past events. Different sentiments and points of views within novels serve as the information one may use to reflect on these events. Natsume Soseki’s novel Kokoro successfully encapsulates much of what has been discussed in class, parallels with the events in Japan at the time the novel takes place, and serves as a social commentary to describe these events in Japan at the time of the Mejeii Restoration and beyond. Therefore, Kokoro successfully serves as a primary

It is estimated that 5000-8000 prints were made during this process, which makes it very valuable. Although prints were one cheap, prints are actually very valuable now. In the print, it is shown that there is a mountain in the background, behind the wave. Which is kinda the whole point of the painting, “the great wave off Kanagawa”. In the print, it shows a wave, but this wave is not a tsunami but called things like “freak wave” or “monster wave”, which makes it nonetheless deadly. In the print, it is shown that there are boats trying to fight the wave, which is confused to be Japanese inspired but that's just its style. It's funny because Japanese politicians don't even view it as Japanese art, which is mostly why Hokusai considered it a failure. Japan even delayed this artwork from being catching on worldwide.

Japan is been always known for their unique artstyle, but none is more influential on both Japanese and western cultural than Katsushika Hokusai. Many consider his paintings the pinnacle of art in the Edo period. The old man of many names is a true part of both japanese and art culture.

This was an influential import and made a huge impact on the Japanese community. There is a mixture of both drawn and photographed images within this chapter. Japanese artists mainly produced images that are printed or hand drawn, while western artists produced the photographed images. The chapter overall includes both a mixture of Japanese and western artists. The images within the chapter portray the viewpoint of the artist who was present at the time of the

The Great Wave by Christopher Benfey shows a glimpse of “Old Japan” and its fascinating artwork around the time of the cultural tsunami in 1854 followed by the time of American Fascination. This book is not so much a book on Japan, more or less it is a piece comparing the U.S. and Japan by looking at topics like cultural and social aspects faced by both countries. Towards the latter half of the book, Benfey really keys into aspects like Jiujutsu and martial arts along with forms of Japanese art and the idea of expressing ones spirit.

The term Japonisme, refers to the influence of Japanese art on Western art (“Japonisme”). During the second half of the nineteenth century, there was an outbreak of admiration for all things Japanese; being that the hidden works of Japan had finally been unveiled to the Western population. In 1859, Japan opened its doors to the concept of overseas trade in turn allowing for Oriental art and household goods to come flooding into Europe. Japanese prints became an immediate hit amongst Western artists; being that they were significantly different from the works of art in which were prevalent within the West. The bright, exotic colors were immensely captivating and the Japanese notion of space opened the eyes of many artists.

One of my favorite pieces of art would be the ukiyo-e print, Under the Wave off Kanagawa (Kanagawa oki nami ura), also known as The Great Wave, from the woodblock print series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei). This print was created by Katsushika Hokusai who at the time went by the name, Zen Hokusai Iitsu hitsu. The interesting elements of this print are the contrast between the wave and the peak of the highest mountain in Japan, Mt. Fuji. With a height of 3776 meters, the mountain appears to be a small mound in this print compared to the huge wave that is towering over the ships within the sense. The most eye catching feature of the print is the claw like crest shape wave that is printed in a dark blue pigment called Prussian

Post-war Japanese society is a world where High and Low art is blurred together by otaku, such as anime, and social class. However, Takashi Murakami straddles the line. Murakami spills a mix of Nihanga and Otaku into the canvases, plastic toys, handbags, shoes, etc; endorsing his own theory/style named “Superflat”. Using strategical subject matter such as popular Japanese comic figures combined with ukiyo-e(traditional Japanese block prints), and addressing these contrasting qualities to outside cultures; Murakami intensifies what Pop Art accomplished, art versus material. On other feelings, one could argue that “Superflat” isn’t a unique, Japan-identified style, that “Superflat” is a humiliation to the Contemporary Art world because of its commercialism. Lastly, that is a continuation of the already well developed Pop Art. On the supporting side, Murakami’s “Superflat” is a high-energy, cross-culture style that serves as a new way to represent the high and low of art that is considerably unique to Japan. To support this, Murakami’s past and present artwork will have to be established chronologically to illustrate how the timeline affects his work.

Japan is an unique oriental country in many aspects, especially in politics and economy, both western practices and traditional nationalism are coexisted in this country. The period 1890-1940 was just followed the Meiji restoration, and was typical in the history of Japan, at that time, Japan was on the way from a feudal country to a capitalistic country, called modernization. Many western practices were being more and more adopted, however, at the same time, traditional rules still had strong influences in Japan. Under this background, this report will discuss the Japanese cultural factors during 1890-1940 that influenced the disclosure

Almost instantaneously recognizable, The Great Wave off Kanagawa (woodblock, 10 1/8 x 14 15/16 in, c. 1830-32), created by Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai in 1830, beautifully captures the graceful, swelling movement of a crashing tsunami. Because of the way in which line and proportion are utilized, this woodblock print gracefully portrays the sheer power of the ocean. Derived from the Edo period in nineteenth century Japan, this classic was the first of a series of works from Hokusai titled Thirty-six views of Mount Fuji, all of which effortlessly depict the mountain in a wide array of angles and scenery. Arguably, The Great Wave off Kanagawa is the most iconic and cherished piece of Japanese artwork in the world. Even more importantly, Hokusai is considered prominent father figure for both Japanese art, as well as Western modernization as a whole. The Great Wave truly displays how tiny and weak man is compared to the force of nature. Not only is The Great Wave a quintessential piece of art, but it established a piece in the comprehensive networks of art, trade, and politics, that has instilled a tremendous positive impact on the twenty first century.

Many artists in Europe and America were influenced by the influx of Japanese design and ukiyo-e prints from the 18th and 19th centuries. Vincent Van Gogh was one such artist. While he was in Paris, he came into contact with many different styles of art, including Japanese woodblock print art, which became the source for his artistic creativity behind his work, The Courtesan (after Eisen) (see figure 1). This work is an oil on canvas painting that Van Gogh produced in 1887. The work is a form of Japonisme because Van Gogh based it on multiple Japanese artists’ block prints. Van Gogh used a block print by Keisai Eisen as the basis for the main subject of his work and he used block prints from multiple other Japanese artists’ as the basis for the border for the work. Although, he used these prints as inspiration he didn’t leave them exactly as they were, in his rendition he added brighter colors and stronger contrasts to add more dimension, and he used additional prints to frame out the final work. Vincent Van Gogh was inspired to paint the painting after seeing a reproduction of a print that was on the May 1886 cover of Paris Illustré that was by Keisai Eisen. (“Vincent Van Gogh”).

This Paper will be an analysis of the development of Japanese landscape painting, analyzing the historical context behind these paintings and what led to the changes in style. Both of these paintings are representative of their specific culture during this rapidly changing time and these changes will be discussed in relation to the artwork. I am going to be discussing Japanese landscape painting, the outside influences shaping Japanese landscape painting but also focusing on the internal elements of Japanese culture shaping the style of artworks. The changing techniques and styles as well as the changing political climate will all be looked at.