Ukiyo In Japan

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“Ukiyo” (浮世); the Japanese word is very precise and ironical word representing this world. Buddhist thought sees this certain world as Everything uncertain, or a transient world. The view let people think that we live hedonistically like floating in the world if this world is transient. “Ukiyo,” which translates as “Floating World,” came to describe this hedonistic lifestyle. One genre of art named “Ukiyo-e” became popular painting in Japan from the 17th through 19th centuries. (-e means painting) Ukiyo-e translates as “pictures of the Floating World,” shows the daily life of such subjects as female beauties; scenes from history and folk tales; travel scenes and landscapes; flora and fauna; and erotica. Beginning in the 19th century, woodblock prints of famous sites in japan, such as Thirty-six views of Mount Fuji by Katsushika Hokusai (1760 - 1849), came into fashion. (p. 230) One of the paint, named “Near Umezawa in Sagami Province,” is one of his great artwork and a representative Ukiyo-e
In late Edo period (1780 - 1867), …show more content…

In 1867, the Paris international Exposition hosted the first exhibition of Japanese prints in Europe, and soon, Japanese artworks appear for sale in shops and stores. Soon after, Japanese Ukiyo-e becomes fashionable and spread among art collectors. In middle 1900’s Ukiyo-e profoundly influenced Western painting. The tendency toward simplicity, flatness and a willingness to depart from the rule of Renaissance perspective, evident in much European painting and graphic art between roughly 1860 and 1900 is a clear indication of the influence. (p. 503) The Japanese art trends in Europe is called Japonisme. Hokusai’s Ukiyo-e was one of most influence Japanese art during Japonisme. Vincent Willem van Gogh was also the enthusiastic Ukiyo-e collector. Hokusai’s Ukiyo-e had a huge influence on his