Gallery 2: Ukiyo-e and Meiji Prints

This gallery includes a small number of woodblock prints from the ukiyo-e tradition of the Edo era as well as some prints from the Meiji era . Ukiyo-e translates as “pictures of the floating world” and portrays the pleasurable activities of the merchant class which rose to economic influence in the 17th century. Images depict tea houses, courtesans, geisha, kabuki theater, sumo wrestlers, birds and flowers, folk tales, history, erotica, and travel scenes. Interest in Ukiyo-e faded among the Japanese following the Meiji Restoration (1868).

Miniature ukiyo-e prints frequently appeared in books (e-hon) and erotica (shunga), neither which are a significant focus of this collection. They are otherwise uncommonly encountered as most prints of the era were in the larger oban (approximately 25 x 38 cm), aiban (34 x 22.5 cm), or chuban (19 x 25 cm) formats. Several artists such as Hokusai and Hiroshige produced series in the koban (13 x 23 cm) format. Mameban (“bean prints”) of kabuki actors are also occasionally encountered.

The collection includes additional kabuki prints by Toyohara Kunichika which can be viewed in Gallery 2A.

Examples of Ukiyo-e reproductions, which are commonly encountered in miniature formats derived from the original larger prints, can be viewed in Gallery 2B.

The following nine prints are from the series True Pictures of Famous Places in Tokyo by Inoue Yasuji (1864-1889). The original series was printed in 1884. These prints are from recut blocks dating to the 1960s.

Kinoshita Hironobu (Fl. 1851-1870)

Six mameban (bean print) images from an uncut hosoban (37.0 x 17.0 cm) sheet published in 1862. Mameban prints were almost always cut into smaller single image sheets. For this reason, they are presented here as if they had been separated.

The following nine images are from one of four oban sized prints from the 1853 series Thirty Six Immortal Poets' Cards by Utagawa Kunisada I (1786 – 1865). The series is a parody of the thirty-six immortal poets whose images and poems were commonly used for a matching game requiring players to match a poem to the author’s portrait. The images are actually of contemporary kabuki actors rather than poets. The parody was an attempt to bypass recently enacted government restrictions on ukiyo-e themes and more luxurious production techniques. A print of the actual poets would likely have been cut apart and backed for use in the matching game. It is possible that this print was also cut apart by some purchasers as would have been done for many miniature kabuki prints. However, the lack of borders around each image suggests that the publisher and artist’s intent was likely to keep the print intact. Nonetheless, each portrait represents a complete image which could stand alone as a miniature print.