Japan: The actor Ichikawa Ebijuro. Ukiyo-e woodblock print by Toyokawa Umekuni (fl. early-mid 19th century), 1820. Ukiyo-e, literally 'pictures of the floating world', are a genre of Japanese woodblock prints (or woodcuts) and paintings produced between the 17th and the 20th centuries, featuring motifs of landscapes, tales from history, the theatre, and pleasure quarters. It is the main artistic genre of woodblock printing in Japan. Usually the word ukiyo is literally translated as 'floating world' in English, referring to a conception of an evanescent world and impermanent, fleeting beauty.

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Ukiyo-e, literally 'pictures of the floating world', are a genre of Japanese woodblock prints (or woodcuts) and paintings produced between the 17th and the 20th centuries, featuring motifs of landscapes, tales from history, the theatre, and pleasure quarters. It is the main artistic genre of woodblock printing in Japan. Usually the word ukiyo is literally translated as 'floating world' in English, referring to a conception of an evanescent world, impermanent, fleeting beauty and a realm of entertainments (kabuki, courtesans, geisha) divorced from the responsibilities of the mundane, everyday world; 'pictures of the floating world', ukiyo-e, are considered a genre unto themselves.

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Photo credit: © Pictures From History / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

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