A quick history of Japanese Woodblock Prints
At the turn of the 19th century communication services such as Newspapers, E-mails, television and radio were not 'readily' available so art became a way of reaching the masses with information, fashion trends and local celebrities and gossip... How things change and how they remain the same!!!
From depiction of famous battles to their love of nature, the Japanese woodblock print artist provide stunning reminders for the masses.
The main themes in woodblock prints are:
• Myths and monsters
• Noh theatre actors - Famous actors of the time
• Noh Plays - Entertainment of the day covering Traditions, folklore and legends
• Flowers
• Everyday life
• Religion - Mainly Buddhism and Taoism
• Landscapes - Mount Fuji
• Wildlife - Birds and insects
• Shunga (sexually explicit)
• Sumo wrestlers
• Samurai
The other arts specialised at the time include:
• Poetry
• Architecture
• Calligraphy
• Flower arranging - Ikebana
• The Tea ceremony
This, in part, was due to being in a time of relative peace and became popular pastimes... These also were reflected in the art of the day ......
Noh play prints were popular as ordinary people visited theatres to watch plays based upon Japanese traditional stories, myths and legends and folklore... Many artists are masked with men and women reversing roles. Roles include, Humans, deities, ghosts and warriors in traditional costumes. There are still over 1000 Noh play actors today in Japan. Other props used are fans and bells.
The actors became very popular and celebrities of the time..
Famous actors included:
• Bando Hikosaburo
• Nakamura Shikan
• Otano Oniji
• Ichikawa Yaozo
• Ichikawa Kodanji 1V
• Toshusai Sharaku
Everyday life also became a vast avenue for pictures such as:
Fisherman/Farmers/Workers in the field- Rice growers etc
Typical food at the turn of the 19th century included:
Rice
Fish
Tofu
With Sake and Soy to taste!!!
Religion forms an integral part of Japanese daily life to this day, so it is quite natural that Japan has many temples predominantly Buddhist and again this is reflected in the art of the time.. Buddhist temples, statues and sacred places are a major feature of the art of the day.. Many artist's series works cover the temples of Kyoto which are many in number. To this day there are over 1500 within Kyoto itself.
The Emperor's at the time we revered as, almost god like figures, so became subjects for historical art. Prints such as the oe below show the Emperor surveying his troops.. Famous battles and Emperor lineage are a favourite topic of art at the time.
So too fashions of the day, how ladies wore their hair and what they were wearing and the new trends in luxury household items..
Ladies wore their hair tied up and predominantly wore three colours of make up:
1. White Face powder
2. Black - For eyebrows and teeth
3. Red - for lips
This was at a time were communications was not as advanced as today. Art was a way of 'advertising' what was going on in Tokyo to the rest of the country.
Mount Fuji in Japan is a mythical mountain to the Japanese people causing awe and reverence, this brush painting depicts this. Again there are many series of prints dedicated to Mount Fuji alone which has become a well-known symbol of Japan.
Fauna and flora also featured heavily and doubled up as studies in birds and insects, many households contained caged insects such as crickets for study and relaxation purposes.
It is not difficult to see why Japanese Woodblock prints hold a fond place in the hearts of the Japanese people, they are visual representations of a place in time. Even between 1886-1912 the art of the ukiyo-e was popular with western artists such as:
Vincent Van Gogh/Claude Monet/Frank Lloyd Wright
As stated the above is only an overview and does not scratch the surface of the vastness in subjects and topics that were covered...
For further reading please google search 'Japanese Woodblock Prints' or ask!!!