Early Modern Japan

The Edo Period

1600–1867 CE

Japanese woodblock print depicting Mount Fuji with a reddish hue and blue sky with clouds.

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

Japanese woodblock print of Mount Fuji under a blue sky with white clouds, featuring a red and brown mountain slope and a sea of trees at the base, known as "South Wind, Clear Sky" by Katsushika Hokusai.
Katsushika Hokusai and nishiki-e in Japanese printmaking
Japanese woodblock print of a large wave, boats, and Mount Fuji in the background.
Explaining woodblock printing with The Great Wave Off Kanagawa
Framed reproduction of "The Great Wave off Kanagawa" by Hokusai, featuring large blue waves and Mount Fuji in the background, hung on a light blue wall.
Conversation with a kid about Hokusai's The Great Wave
Traditional Japanese ukiyo-e print depicting several people wearing kimonos, two indoors behind a railing, others on the street, including a person in a straw hat.
Hishikawa Moronobu and sumizuri-e in Japanese printmaking
Japanese woodblock print depicting blooming plum trees with people in the background, set against a colorful sky.
Utagawa Hiroshige's Plum Estate, Kameido and ukiyo-e explained

Important terms and concepts

Edo period

Early Modern Period

Woodblock Print

ukiyo-e

sumizuri-e

nishiki-e

harimaze

Japanese woodblock print depicting blooming a man fishing with a mountain in the background
Hokusai's series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji
Japanese woodblock print depicting two bats below a crescent moon and Japanese text to the right
Katsuhika Taito II, Bats and Dragon (harimaze print)

Artists

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