Pictures of the Floating World: Ukiyo-e Woodblock

Affordable art in the form of woodblock prints became popular in Japan during the Edo period (1615–1868), and was known as Ukiyo-e, literally “pictures of the Floating World” for their ephemeral nature. When Japan opened its doors to the west in the mid-19th century, many of these prints by Hokusai, Hiroshige, and other artists were introduced to Europe for the first time and were received with great enthusiasm by the Impressionist and Post-Impressionist artists in Paris. This lecture traces the history of Ukiyo-e with examples from famous masters. Dr Meri Arichi studied Art History in London and Florence, and worked at Christie’s, London, from 1989 to 1993. She later took her Post-graduate Diploma in Asian Art, MA in History of East Asian Art, and PhD in Japanese Art at SOAS. She has taught the History of Japanese Art at SOAS as a Senior Teaching Fellow from 2007 to 2016. Dr Arichi is a trustee of the Japanese Women’s Association in Great Britain and the Chair of the Circle of Japanese Art London.