Tokugawa Art and Culture

Ukiyo-e = “Pictures of the floating world” (woodblock prints)

“Mt. Fuji on a Clear Day”(aka Red Fuji) by Hokusai (1760-1849)

Prints by Kitagawa Utamaro (1753-1806) ; the portrait on the left is a domestic scene, the one on

the right is of a bijinga (beautiful person)

Noh Theater -Noh is the oldest of Japan’s theatrical arts.

-It includes music, dance, and sculpture as well as drama.

-It is more restrained and less extroverted than Kabuki, Japan’s other major theatrical art.

-Actors wear masks and perform on a simple stage typically resembling a Shinto shrine, often with a figure representing a pine tree in the background.

Noh Theater makes use of music also

Kabuki plays, in contrast, are more extravagant, with many dances and with actors wearing make-up rather

than masks

Kabuki actor

Sumo

Tea Ceremony = chado

Ikebana = Japanese art of flower arrangement (kado)

Poetry (haiku esp.) On the Road to Nara (by Matsuo Basho)

Oh, these Spring Days! A nameless little mountain, Wrapped in morning hazel.

Japanese calligraphy (shodo)