Early Modern Japan
The Edo Period
1600–1867 CE
A period of isolation and also incredible artistic developments
Edo Period
The Tokugawa (Edo) Period was marked by 250 years of seclusion as well as the development of a middle-class and major innovations in art and literature
Important terms and concepts
Edo period
Early Modern Period
Prints and Printmaking
VIDEO: What is nishiki-e in Japanese printmaking? | Katsushika Hokusai’s Red Fuji
VIDEO: What is woodblock printing? | Hokusai’s The Great Wave Off Kanagawa
VIDEO: Conversation with a kid about Hokusai's The Great Wave
VIDEO: What is sumizuri-e in Japanese printmaking? | Hishikawa Moronobu and his sumizuri-e
VIDEO: What is ukiyo-e? | Utagawa Hiroshige's Plum Estate, Kameido
Important terms and concepts
Woodblock Print
ukiyo-e
sumizuri-e
nishiki-e
harimaze
“Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido”
VIDEO: Katsuhika Taito II, Bats and Dragon (harimaze print)
VIDEO: Utagawa Hiroshige, Kanbara, Night Snow from the series “Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido”
Painting
VIDEO: Hokusai, The Demon-Queller Zhong Kui
VIDEO: What is a byobu? | Ogata Korin’s Landscape
Important terms and concepts
byobu (byōbu)
Zhong Kui
Artists
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![Vintage Japanese woodblock print of a plum tree with blossoms, featuring a sunset sky and people in the background.]()
Utagawa Hiroshige
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![Japanese woodblock print depicting several figures in traditional attire, with two women inside a building looking through bars, and three figures walking outside, including a person wearing a patterned kimono and a straw hat.]()
Hishikawa Moronobu
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![The Great Wave off Kanagawa, a famous woodblock print by Hokusai, depicting a large blue wave with white foam, boats, and Mount Fuji in the background.]()
Katsushika Hokusai
Related Resources
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