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Japanese Prints: Ukiyo-e in Edo, 1700-1900
Japanese woodblock prints made in Edo (now Tokyo) during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries were the products of a highly commercialized and competitive publishing industry, which survived and prospered into the early years of the twentieth century. The range of subjects found in them - actors of the kabuki theatre, beautiful women, landscapes, warriors - was inspired by the vibrant popular culture that flourished in the city. At any given time scores of publishers competed for the services of the leading artists of the day, and publishers and artists displayed tremendous ingenuity in finding ways to sustain demand for their products and to circumvent the restrictions placed on the industry through government censorship.
Although Japanese prints have long been appreciated in the West for their graphic qualities, their content has not always been fully understood. This book draws on recent scholarship that makes possible a more subtle appreciation of the imagery encountered in the prints and how they would have been read when first made. Through stunning new photography of both well-known and rarely published works in the collection of the British Museum, including many recent acquisitions, the author explores how and why such prints were made, providing a fascinating introduction to a much-loved but little-understood art form.
Although Japanese prints have long been appreciated in the West for their graphic qualities, their content has not always been fully understood. This book draws on recent scholarship that makes possible a more subtle appreciation of the imagery encountered in the prints and how they would have been read when first made. Through stunning new photography of both well-known and rarely published works in the collection of the British Museum, including many recent acquisitions, the author explores how and why such prints were made, providing a fascinating introduction to a much-loved but little-understood art form.
144 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 14, 2025
Splendid book on the history of ukiyo-e. One of the great strengths of Tinios's book is the text. More than most art books, it is the story he tells here that is even better than the prints (which are also high quality). Tinios is excellent on how sumptuary laws passed by the shogunate impacted ukiyo-e. While they were usually enforced in a somewhat haphazard way, when the authorities decided to crack down they didn't mess around. The great Utamaro, for example, was even jailed - an experience some believe hastened his death.
"Government surveillance had a substantial impact on the content and formats of ukiyo-e prints," he writes in the chapter Censorship of Popular Prints. Officials regarded a medium that could disseminate information and ideas quickly and cheaply to a wide audience as potentially subversive. Thus, while they dismissed ukiyo-e prints as frivolities fit only for women and children, at the same time they sought to maintain strict control over their content in order to guard against dangers perceived as being inherent to the medium."
This is not only interesting in its own right but helps explain how ukiyo-e artists and publishers conceived the prints and, especially, the series.
Tinios also provides solid background on the artisans who contributed so much - the carvers and printers - and how all these people fit into the social scale, so to speak, of Edo. Unlike so many art historians, he isn't a snob, and he doesn't let the conventional wisdom dictate his impressions. Consequently, some of the great ukiyo-e artists of the first half of the 19th century, those who followed the so-called "Golden Age," get fair treatment here. And not just Hokusai and Hiroshige. His story goes right up the beginning of the 20th century when, following a last burst of popularity with the Russo-Japanese War when prints served as propaganda for the state, ukiyo-e ended as a widespread popular medium and became instead the work of pure artists.
Highly recommended for anyone interested in Japanese history as well as ukiyo-e lovers.
Highly recommended.
"Government surveillance had a substantial impact on the content and formats of ukiyo-e prints," he writes in the chapter Censorship of Popular Prints. Officials regarded a medium that could disseminate information and ideas quickly and cheaply to a wide audience as potentially subversive. Thus, while they dismissed ukiyo-e prints as frivolities fit only for women and children, at the same time they sought to maintain strict control over their content in order to guard against dangers perceived as being inherent to the medium."
This is not only interesting in its own right but helps explain how ukiyo-e artists and publishers conceived the prints and, especially, the series.
Tinios also provides solid background on the artisans who contributed so much - the carvers and printers - and how all these people fit into the social scale, so to speak, of Edo. Unlike so many art historians, he isn't a snob, and he doesn't let the conventional wisdom dictate his impressions. Consequently, some of the great ukiyo-e artists of the first half of the 19th century, those who followed the so-called "Golden Age," get fair treatment here. And not just Hokusai and Hiroshige. His story goes right up the beginning of the 20th century when, following a last burst of popularity with the Russo-Japanese War when prints served as propaganda for the state, ukiyo-e ended as a widespread popular medium and became instead the work of pure artists.
Highly recommended for anyone interested in Japanese history as well as ukiyo-e lovers.
Highly recommended.
August 4, 2025
Fascinating history of Japanese prints
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews