This is a list of terms frequently encountered in the description ofukiyo-e (浮世絵 ) -styleJapanese woodblock prints and paintings. For a list of print sizes, see below.
Aizuri-e (藍摺絵 ) ; "blue picture"Aka-e (赤絵 ) ; "red picture"Aratame (改 ) ; "examined" character found in many censor sealsBaren (馬連、馬楝 ) ; a tool used to rub the back of a sheet of paper to pick up ink from the blockBeni-e (紅絵 ) ; primitive ukiyo-e style prints, usually printed in pink[ 1] Benizuri-e (紅刷絵 , "crimson picture") ; primitive ukiyo-e style prints, usually printed in pink and greenBijin-ga (美( び ) 人( じん ) 画( が ) ) ; pictures of beautiful womenBokashi (ぼかし ) ; technique of applying a gradation of ink to a moistened block to vary lightness and darkness (value) of a single colourCensor seal; from 1790 until 1876 all woodblock prints had to be examined by official censors, and marked with their seals Chūban (中判 ) ; a print size about 7 by 10 inches (18 cm × 25 cm)Chūtanzaku (中短冊判 ) ; a print size about 14 by 5 inches (36 cm × 13 cm)Edo period (江戸時代 ,Edo jidai ) ; dating from 1603 to 1868, the period when Japanese society was under the rule of theTokugawa shogunate E-hon (絵本 ) ; "picture book"Egoyomi (盲暦 ) ; a picture calendarFudezaishiki (筆彩色 ) ; colouring with a paintbrushFurikake (振り掛け ) ; powdered minerals or metals sprinkled onto a print during the production processFushiga ; satirical ukiyo-e picturesGafu (画譜 ) ; albumGanso (元祖 ) ; "founder" prefix, used on a print to indicate the publisherGeisha (芸者 ) ; a common subject in ukiyo-eHanga (版画 ) ; a printHanmoto (版元 ) ; a publisherHashira-e (柱絵 , "pillar print") ; a print size about 28 by 4.5 inches (71 cm × 11 cm)Horishi (彫師 ) ; a carver of woodblocksHosoban (細判 ) ; a print size about 13 by 5 inches (33 cm × 13 cm)Iro-ban (色板 ) ; a colour blockJōge-e (上下絵 ) ; prints that can be viewed from either top or bottomThe Tales of Ise (伊勢物語 ,Ise monogatari ) ; anuta monogatari , or collection ofwaka poems and associated narratives, dating from theHeian period Ishizuri-e (石摺絵 ) ; a print that mimics a stone rubbing, with uninked images or text on a dark, usually black, backgroundIta-bokashi (板ぼかし , "block shading") ; a technique for producing gradation achieved by sanding or abrading the edges of the carvingKaika-e (開化絵 ) ; ukiyo-e genre of the Meiji period that celebrated the Westernization of Tokyo and its peopleKakemono-e (掛物絵 ) ; anōban diptych arranged one above the other (also a hanging scroll painting)Kachō-ga (花鳥画 ) ; paintings of flowers and birdsKakihan (書き判 ) ; the artist's tag, used on prints with (or instead of) a signatureKamigata (上方 ) ; region of Japan referring to the cities ofKyoto andOsaka Kappazuri (合羽摺 ) ; prints of a single colour (usually black) coloured by stenciling. Prints produced entirely by stenciling, without woodblocks, are also calledkappazuri .Karazuri (空摺 ) ; dry printing,embossing Kasure-bori (掠れ彫り , "scratch carving") ; style of woodblock carving imitating dry brushstrokesKisokaidō (中山道 ) ; one of theFive Routes of the Edo periodKirazuri (雲母摺り ) ; a method used in woodblock printmaking using mica powder to add sparkleKiwame (極 ) ; "approved" character found in many censor sealsKojita-e (小下絵 ) ; a rough sketchKomochi-e (子持絵 ) ; prints with moveable partsKuchi-e (口絵 ) ; frontispieces of books, especially woodblock printed frontispieces for Japanese romance novels and literary magazines published from the 1890s to the 1910sMameban (豆判 ) ; a print size about 4.75 by 3.2 inches (12.1 cm × 8.1 cm), sometimes called a "toy print"Megane-e (眼鏡絵 ) ; a print designed using graphical perspective techniques and viewed through a convex lens to produce a three-dimensional effectMeisho (名所 ) ; famous sites often depicted in ukiyo-eMitate-e (見立絵 ) ; a subgenre of ukiyo-e that employs allusions, puns, and incongruities, often to parody classical art or eventsMount Fuji (富士山 ,Fujisan ) ; the highest mountain in Japan, a common subjectMusha-e (武者絵 ) ; warrior printMuzan-e (無残絵 ) ; woodcut prints of violent nature published in the late Edo and Meiji periodsNagasaki-e (長崎絵 ) ; prints, produced in Nagasaki during the Edo period, that depict the port city of Nagasaki, the Dutch and Chinese who frequented it, and foreign curiosities such as exotic fauna and Dutch and Chinese shipsNamazu-e (鯰絵 ) ; prints depicting the Japanese mythological giant catfish, theNamazu (鯰 ) Nikuhitsu-ga (肉筆画 ) ; a painting in the ukiyo-e styleNishiki-e (錦絵 ) ; multi-coloured woodblock printingŌban (大判 ) ; a print size about 15.5 by 10.5 inches (39 cm × 27 cm)Ōkubi-e (大首絵 ) ; portrait prints, bustsOmocha-e (玩具絵 ) ; ukiyo-e created as picture books and toys for childrenSchools (流派 ) : Schools of ukiyo-e artistsSenso-e (戰爭絵 ) ; prints depicting theSino-Japanese andRusso-Japanese Wars Shin-hanga (新版画 , "New prints") ; 20th century ukiyo-e revival printsShini-e (死絵 ) ; "death pictures" or "death portraits"Shita-e (下絵 ) ; final preparatory drawing pasted onto the block for printingShikishiban (色紙判 ) ; a print size about 8 by 7 inches (20 cm × 18 cm), often used forsurimono Shomen-zuri (正面摺 , "front-printing") ; a polishing technique sometimes used to create a shiny surface on black areas in printsShunga (春画 , "spring image") ; erotically themed artSōsaku-hanga (創作版画 ) ; an early 20th-century art movement of woodblock printingSumizuri-e ; a type of monochromatic woodblock printing that uses only black inkSurimono (摺物 ) ; privately commissioned prints for special occasions such as theNew Year Surishi (摺師 ) ; a printerTan-e (丹絵 ) ; primitive ukiyo-e style prints, usually printed in red[ 1] Tate-e (縦絵 ) ; a print in vertical or "portrait" formatTenpō Reforms (天保の改革 ,Tenpō no kaikaku ) ; an array of economic policies introduced in 1842 by the Tokugawa Shogunate, precursor toMeiji Restoration Tōkaidō (東海道 ) ; the most important of theFive Routes of the Edo periodUchiwa-e (団扇絵 ) ; prints on paddle-shaped hand fans (uchiwa )Uki-e (浮絵 , "floating picture") ; a picture usinglinear perspective Ukiyo (浮世 , "the floating world") ; the culture of Edo-period Japan (1600–1867)Urushi-e (漆絵 ) ; paintings painted with lacquer, and a printing style using ink that resembles the darkness and thickness of black lacquerWaka (和歌 ) ; Japanese poetryWashi (和紙 ) ; traditional Japanese paperYakusha-e (役者絵 ) ; prints ofkabuki actorsYoko-e (横絵 ) ; a print in horizontal or "landscape" formatYokohama-e (横浜絵 ) ; prints depicting non-East Asian foreigners and scenes of Yokohama.Yūrei-zu (幽霊図 ) ; prints depicting ghosts, demons and other supernatural beingsThe Japanese terms for vertical (portrait) and horizontal (landscape) formats for images aretate-e (縦絵 ) andyoko-e (横絵 ) , respectively.
Below is a table of common Tokugawa-period print sizes. Sizes varied depending on the period, and those given are approximate they are based on the pre-printing paper sizes, and paper was often trimmed after printing.
Print sizes name translation cm (in) aiban (合判 ) intermediate 34 × 22.5 (13.4 × 8.9) bai-ōban (倍大判 ) intermediate 45.7 × 34.5 (18.0 × 13.6) chūban (中判 ) medium 26 × 19 (10.2 × 7.5) hashira-e (柱絵 ) pillar print 73 × 12 (28.7 × 4.7) hosoban (細判 )
orhoso-e (細絵 ) [ 2] narrow 33 × 14.5 (13.0 × 5.7) 39 × 17 (15.4 × 6.7) kakemono-e (掛物絵 ) hanging scroll 76.5 × 23 (30.1 × 9.1) nagaban (長判 ) long 50 × 20 (19.7 × 7.9) ōban (大判 ) large 38 × 25.5 (15.0 × 10.0) 58 × 32 (23 × 13) ō-tanzaku (大短冊判 ) large poem card 38 × 17 (15.0 × 6.7) chū-tanzaku (中短冊判 ) medium poem card 38 × 13 (15.0 × 5.1) surimono (摺物 ) a genre of woodblock print 35 × 20 (13.8 × 7.9) 12 × 9 (4.7 × 3.5) –
21 × 18 (8.3 × 7.1)
Citations
Sources
General Themes Region specific themes Techniques Schools Related traditions
Ukiyo-e schools and artists
General Schools and artists of 17–19th centuriesAsayama school Eishi school Furuyama school Harukawa Eizan school Harunobu school Hasegawa school Hishikawa school Hokusai school Ippitsusai Bunchō school Ishikawa Toyonobu school Kaigetsudō school Katsukawa school Kawamata school Keisai Eisen school Kitagawa school Kitao school Miyagawa school Nishikawa school Nishimura school Okumura school Ōoka school Osaka school Ryūkōsai school Shigenobu school Shunkōsai Fukushū school Torii school Toyohara school Utagawa school Not associated with any school By region 20th century artists and movements Related Ukiyo-e influenced non-Japanese art