Katsushika Hokusai, Ukiyo-e & Edo Period Japan

• Who was Katsushika Hokusai?
  • His early life
  • The height of his career
  • His later life
• What was Hokusai's work like?
  • The Ukiyo-e
  • The 36 Views of Mount Fuji
  • Artists of the Ukiyo-e
• What was Japan like then?
  • The Edo Period
  • Foreign Influences
  • Japonism

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  • Bijin-ga: or images of beauties, celebrate both real and idealized women. At first the images featured high-ranking courtesans but soon included historic figures, geisha (performers of music and dance), lower-ranked courtesans, fictional characters, notable townswomen, and everyday women. The women are portrayed in different activities and occupations, in public and private settings - doing chores, flirting, performing, writing - always surrounded by an aura of captivating beauty.
  • Bracquemond, Felix: (1833-1914) a French impressionist painter and etcher who played a pivotal role in the introduction of Japanese art to the West in late 19th century (see Japonism)
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  • Daimyo: powerful feudal lords who ruled vast territories between the 10th and 19th centuries
  • Dejima: was a fan-shaped artificial island in the bay of Nagasaki that was a Dutch trading port during Japan's self-imposed isolation (sakoku) of the Edo period, from 1641 until 1853
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  • Edo: is the former name of the Japanese capital Tokyo, and was the seat of power for the Tokugawa shogunate which ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868. During this period it grew to become one of the largest cities in the world and the site of a vibrant urban culture centered on notions of the ukiyo or "floating world".
  • Edo-e: see entry for Nishiki-e
  • Edo Period: The Edo period (Edo-jidai), also referred to as the Tokugawa period, is a division of Japanese history running from 1603 to 1868. The period marks the governance of the Edo or Tokugawa shogunate, which was officially established in 1603 by the first Edo shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu. The period ended with the Meiji Restoration, the restoration of imperial rule by the 15th and last shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu. The Edo period is also known as the beginning of the early modern period of Japan.
  • Ehon: picture books created by artists and craftsmen and featuring essays, poems or other texts written in beautifully distinctive calligraphy
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  • Go: (art-name) is a pseudonym, or penname, used by a Japanese artist, which they sometimes change. In some cases, artists adopted different go at different stages of their career, usually to mark significant changes in their life. One of the most extreme examples of this is Hokusai, who in the period 1798 to 1806 alone used no fewer than six. A woodblock print artist's first go is usually given to them by the head of the school (a group of artists and apprentices, with a senior as master of the school) in which they initially studied; this go usually includes one of the syllables of the master's go.
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  • Hanshita: usually prepared on very thin paper, the hanshita is a final 'master-copy' of the design and is used by the craftsman/woodcutter to produce the blocks used in printing.
  • Harunobu, Suzuki: (1724-1770) a famous artist of the Ukiyo-e style. Pioneered the full-colour Nishiki-e printing method (view examples of nishiki-e by Harunobu)
  • Hikko: the student or assistant of a wood-block artist who would aid his master in the production of his work.
  • Hokusai, Katsushika: (1760-1849) a Japanese artist, ukiyo-e painter and printmaker of the Edo period. In his time, he was Japan's leading expert on Chinese painting. Born in Edo, Hokusai is best-known as author of the woodblock print series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji.
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  • Japonism: the term used to describe the influence that Japanese art had upon the art of the West during the late 19th century (learn more about japonism)
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  • Kabuki: a form of traditional Japanese theatre known for the stylization of its drama and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of it's performers (View a Ukiyo-e print showing a Kabuki actor)
  • Kano: one of the most famous schools of Japanese painting. Kano painters often worked on a large scale, painting nature scenes of birds, plants, water, or other animals on sliding doors or screens
  • Kokan, Shiba: Shiba Kokan (1747-1818) was a Japanese painter and printmaker of the Edo period, famous both for his Western-style paintings, in imitation of Dutch oil painting styles, and his ukiyo-e prints
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  • Manga: is a Japanese term that generally means "comics" or "cartoon", literally "whimsical sketches." Historians and writers on manga history have described two broad and complementary processes shaping modern manga. Their views differ in the relative importance they attribute to the role of cultural and historical events following World War II versus the role of pre-War, Meiji, and pre-Meiji Japanese culture and art
  • Meiji Restoration: also known as the Meiji Ishin, Revolution, or Renewal, was a chain of events that led to enormous changes in Japan's political and social structure. It occurred in the latter half of the 19th century, a period that spans both the late Edo period and the beginning of the Meiji Era.
  • Moronobu, Hishikawa: (1618-1694) one of the first Ukiyo-e artists (learn more about Moronobu)
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  • Nishiki-e: (brocade print) full colour wood-block prints, developed during the 1760s they were primarily used in Ukiyo-e. Sometimes refered to as Edo-e. Pioneered by the artist Suzuki Harunobu (view examples of nishiki-e)
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  • Oda Nobunaga: (1534-1582) was a major daimyo during the Sengoku period of Japanese history. He was the second son of Oda Nobuhide, a deputy shugo (military governor) with land holdings in Owari province. Nobunaga lived a life of continuous military conquest, eventually conquering a third of Japanese daimyo before his death in 1582.
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  • Rangaku: (Dutch Learning) is a body of knowledge developed by Japan through its contact with the Dutch enclave of Dejima, which allowed Japan to keep abreast of Western technology and medicine in the period when the country was closed to foreigners, 1641-1853, because of the Tokugawa shogunate’s policy of national isolation (see Sakoku Edicts).
  • Red Seal Patents: were issued to various lords and merchants by the Shoguns, allowing them to trade overseas. This system allowed the Shoguns to control trade and limit the effects of piracy. A limited number of European and Chinese ships were also granted red seals. The system was abandoned in 1635.
  • Red Seal Ships: were armed merchant vessels which traded Japanese goods abroad, travelling to destinations such as China, India and Indonesia. There were up to 350 red seal ships.
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  • Sakoku Edicts: 'country in chains' or 'lock up of country' was the foreign relations policy of Japan under which no foreigner could enter, or Japanese could leave, the country on penalty of death. The policy remained in effect until 1853 with the arrival of Commodore Matthew Perry and the opening of Japan.
  • Sengoku period: The Warring States period (sengoku jidai) was a time of social upheaval, political intrigue, and nearly constant military conflict in Japan that lasted roughly from the middle of the 15th century to the beginning of the 17th century.
  • Shogun: ("Commander of the Armies") is a military rank and historical title in Japan. The Japanese word for "general", it is made up of two kanji words: sho, meaning "commander", "general", or "admiral", and gun meaning troops or warriors. As a title, it is the short form of Seii Taishogun, the governing individual at various times in the history of Japan, ending when Tokugawa Yoshinobu relinquished the office to the Meiji Emperor in 1867.
  • Shunga: (springtime pictures) a Japanese term for erotic pictures. Most shunga are a type of ukiyo-e, usually executed in woodblock print format.
  • Shunsho, Katsukawa: (1726-1792) a leading Ukiyo-e artist and tutor of Katsushika Hokusai
  • Sukenobu, Nishikawa: (1671-1750) often called simply "Sukenobu", was a Japanese printmaker from Kyoto. He was unusual for a ukiyo-e in being based in the imperial capital of Kyoto. He did prints of actors, but gained note for his works concerning women.
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  • Tenpo Reforms: introduced in 1844 by the government led by Mizuno Tadakuni. The Tenpo Reforms brought military, social and economic change
  • Tokugawa Ieyasu: (1543-1616) was the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan which ruled from the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. Ieyasu seized power in 1600, received appointment as shogun in 1603, abdicated from office in 1605, but remained in power until his death in 1616.
  • Tokugawa Shogunate: ruling feudal regime of Japan from 1603 - 1868. Established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by successive Shoguns. Ended with the Meiji Restoration in 1868.
  • Tosa: a school of Japanese painting founded in the 15th century, Tosa was devoted to the Yamato-e style, which are paintings specializing in subject matter and techniques derived from ancient Japanese art.
  • Torri: a school of ukiyo-e painting and printing founded in Edo. The primary producers of kabuki theater signboards and other promotional materials, the Torii were among those whose work led to the development of ukiyo-e. Their style was one of the primary influences in the ukiyo-e depiction of actors and kabuki scenes for much of the 18th century.
  • Toyotomi Hideyoshi: a Japanese warlord or daimyo who unified the country in the late 16th century. Hideyoshi brought many social changes to Japan during his time as Regent, successor to Oda Nobunaga
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  • Ukiyo: a term used to describe the popular entertainment culture of Edo and other Japanese cities of the Edo Period.
  • Ukiyo-e: a term used to describe the Japanese wood-block prints produced between the 17th and 20th centuries that focused on the depiction of famous actors, courtesans and prostitutes, landscapes and erotica.
  • Utagawa: a school of the ukiyo-e founded by Toyoharu and later mastered by his pupil Toyokuni. Under Toyokuni's leadership Utagawa quickly became the prominent school of the time. The school became so successful and well-known that today more than half of all surviving ukiyo-e prints are from it.
  • Utagawa Kuniteru: (1808-1876) was an ukiyo-e artist in the tradition of the Utagawa school. Born in Edo, he studied under both Kunisada and Toyokuni. He produced prints of a wide variety of subjects, including many depicting the increasing Western influence on Japan, with his main output taking the form of book illustrations and single-sheet ukiyo-e.
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  • Wood-block Prints: a relief printing artistic technique in printmaking in which an image is carved into the surface of a block of wood, with the printing parts remaining level with the surface while the non-printing parts are removed, typically with gouges
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