Edo Prints & Printmaking

This course was previously a Studio-Art History mix, but now it is strictly Art History. Ukiyo-e, or floating-world pictures, depict the urban pleasures and escapes offered in Japan's modern imperial capital of Edo (present-day Tokyo). The course will examine the history, production, and reception of ukiyo-e woodblock prints from the 17th-20th centuries, covering traditional ukiyo-e, updates during the Meiji period (1868-1912), and then Shin Hanga and Sosaku Hanga movements into the 1950s. Themes to be explored include: cityscapes, landscapes and travel; representations of beautiful men and women in bijinga; the theatre and the Kabuki stage; encounters with the west; ghosts and demons; and erotic imagery.