Ukiyo-e in Tokugawa Japan

Jared Peet

Objectives

• Describe life and the forces at change in Japanese society in cities like Edo

• Analyze the new Japanese ‘city culture’ under the Tokugawa Shogunate through Ukiyo-e Woodblock prints

• Determine why this new Japanese ‘pop city culture’ emerged during the Tokugawa and what it meant for Japan’s future

Japan: Memoirs of a Secret Empire

• We are going to watch a film clip• Watch the video and take down notes on the

following topics on the graphic organizer

Partner Debrief

• With your partner, review the answers to the questions/prompts on your graphic organizer– a. Unique features of the city of Edo (Tokyo)– b. Role & Relationship of Samurai / Merchants– c. Changing nature of society – levels of sophistication & social

mixing/interaction– d. ‘Pop’ culture & entertainment – Examples of it & changing

trends– e. Kabuki theater & its role in Japanese Society– f. What was the symbolism & lesson from the ’47 Ronin

Incident?’ Consider both the historical event and the Kabuki Theater production.

Changes to Japanese Society• Shift away from Buddhism to more secular culture• Ukiyo-e, or “pictures of the floating world,” were made

from carved wood blocks (the reverse image, usually one block for each color)

• Subject matter was, in broad terms, Japan’s new urban culture.

• Although the women and activities of the pleasure quarters were one focus of the prints, they were not exclusive.

• Other important topics were the kabuki theatre, sumo wrestlers, and in time, the landscape of the Japanese archipelago, most famously, Mt. Fuji.

Topics in Ukiyo-e

• Everyday scenes• Low subject matter

(pleasure quarters)• New urban

environment

Techniques of Ukiyo-e

• Elongated pictorial formats • Asymmetrical compositions • Aerial perspective • Spaces emptied of all but

abstract elements of color and line

• Focus on singularly decorative motifs.

• Exaggerated colors, contours, and facial expressions (Kabuki)

The Spread of Ukiyo-e• A typical wood block print was

about 9 x 14 inches. • Because they were printed,

they could be produced cheaply and in large numbers.

• Common people of reasonable means could readily buy a print of Mt. Fuji or of a favorite kabuki actor

• They were not too expensive, nor were they considered high art.

Hinge Point Quiz

1. List two common subjects of Ukiyo-e art.

2. Describe how Ukiyo-e art is made

3. Did Ukiyo-e art focus on rural, suburban or urban scenes?

1. Kabuki, Nature - landscapes, Sumo, common urban scenes

2. A wood block is carved and a colored print is made using block

3. Urban - Edo

Art Analysis Time!• In your group, look at and analyze the image given to

your group. Then cooperatively answer the questions below to the best of your abilities.

• What is the subject and setting of your image?• What can you infer about the people pictured in the

image? Social standing? Who is missing from this image?• What kind of buildings or structures do you notice? What

might we be able to glean about Japanese society from the size, material, or the style of these buildings?

• What are the people doing? What does this tell you about the world that the artist has captured?

• What can we infer from these images about the audience for whom they are meant?

Final Thoughts

• Answer the following question on your sheet:– Why did a new popular culture begin to appear in

Tokugawa Japan while traditional values prevailed in neighboring China? Explain.