Ukiyo-e, Japanese culture

/Red Mt. Fuji of "Ukiyoe"

/Ukiyo-e.
Ukiyoe is paintings dealing with the earthly world where people live.
It was printed by the technique of the wood-block print as public-oriented amusement at the barrelful. The epoch is from the second half of the 17th century to the beginning of the 20th century.
Ukiyoe influenced greatly Gogh Monet, the painter.

The making procedure of Ukiyo-e.
1. Draw a draft.
2. Engrave the woodblock.
3. Specify a color.
4. Only the number of colors engraves a carved woodblock.
5. Print only the color number on the same paper.

The popular ukiyoe is the "landscape" depicting the famous place of the travel and the picnic, the "beautiful-woman picture" depicting a woman, and a "portrait of actors" depicting a Kabuki actor.
The famous authors are "Katsushika Hokusai","Utagawa Hiroshige"of a landscape, "Kitagawa Utamaro" of a beautiful-woman picture, "Toshusai Sharaku"of a kabuki actor's, etc.

/ "Katsushika Hokusai"

/"Toshusai Sharaku"

/"Kitagawa Utamaro"

//Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849). //
Katsushika Hokusai is a globally prominent artist and a work is famous for "Thirty-Six View of Mt. Fuji" and "Hokusai's Sketches." Hokusai announced the work which exceeds 30,000 in the whole life. In the landscape of ukiyoe, it is a symbolic work. The beauty of modeling, the power of expression which draws nature free, it is wonderful.
Although the title was "Thirty-Six View of Mt. Fuji", since they are popular, 46 pictures were published. He was known by the evaluation as a work which determined the status of Hokusai as a landscapist. Hokusai continued creative activity until he was lengthways healthy and died (90 years-old death). Also just before dying, Hokusai said, "If it is in five more years, I will get used to a real painter", and was chagrined.

The "Kanagawa-oki nami-ura" of "Thirty-Six View of Mt. Fuji" which is Hokusai's masterpiece, a wave pounces and is drawing the appearance breaking into pieces excellently.

In "Gaifuo Kaisei", It is drawing Mt. Fuji of the morning glow.It is the simple composition of towering Mt. Fuji and the clouds of autumn. The clouds hanging in a blue sky, the blue ocean of trees of the foot of Mt. Fuji, and the mountain which dyed redly.It is one of his masterpiece, generally it is called "red Fuji".

/Kanagawa-oki nmi-ura

/Gaifuo Kaisei

//Kitagawa Utamaro (1753-1806)//.
Kitagawa Utamaro is a typical ukiyoe artist of a beautiful-woman. He drew the illustration of Sharebon in the beginning, it is novel which makes the theme playing around in the licensed pleasure quarter of the Edo period.
Then, Utamaro became an authority of the beautiful-woman picture to the beautiful-woman picture using a player's bust portrait. A bust portrait is what drew the woman half figure greatly. It drew a woman expression delicately, drew finely a delicate expression which eyes and a nose build, and the behavior of fingers, to pictured various woman mental states.
Utamaro's beautiful-woman picture was the work in which the most drew Yoshiwara and Prostitute. He also left the masterpiece to such as Real drawing, Erotic drawing, and famous-place landscapes, "Hachi-kei Ukiyoe".

// Toshusai Sharaku (? - ?) //
The ukiyoe artist in the middle of the Edo period. Sharaku is known as a painter of a mystery who made works, such as a kabuki-actor picture, broke the artist suddenly, and disappeared in the short period of about ten months.
For Kansei six years of the Edo period, the bust portrait of the large-sized kabuki actor of 28 sheets has deformed, are eyes and a nose, a receiving window, etc., and is exaggerating and expressing the characteristic of a face. It was the unique work which drew boldly and skillfully the individuality which the kabuki actor has, and expression and a pause also drew dynamically.
His individual work left the intense impression. as a masterpiece -- "Takemura Sadanoshin of the Ichikawa Ebizou", and "the San-dai Sakata Hngorou of Fujikawa Mizuemon."

//Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858).//

Hiroshige's masterpieces are the "fifty-three post stations of the Tokaido", the "Famous places in the Eastern Metropolis", the "One Handred Famous Views of Edo".
Hiroshige is the landscape author's authority. There is much landscape which Hiroshige's landscape adopts a perspective method, and he use to gradate effectively, his landscape exist in a feeling of lyricism.

"Toukaido Gojyuo-santsugi "

"OTA MEMORIAL MUSEUM OF ART" http://www.ukiyoe-ota-muse.jp/eng

"THE SUMIDA HOKUSAI MUSEUM " https://hokusai-museum.jp/?lang=en

"Adachi Woogcut Prints" https://www.adachi-hanga.com/ukiyo-e-en/