20. The Floating World of Harunobu, Utamaro, and Sharaku

 

How was Edo society organized (on paper, at least)?

four classes:

•  Samurai warriors (J:   bu 武)

•  Farmers (J: nô 農)

•  Craftsmen (J:   ko 工)

•  Merchants (J: shô 商)

Chônin 町人 :   literally “people of the block,” townspeople, primarily merchants and artisans

In everyday life, were these groups distinctive?

Ukiyo-e 浮世絵   What does the term mean?  

Yoshiwara Courtesan Quarters 吉原

            1660-1760

Moronobu 菱川師宣 (1618-1694). The Appearance of the Yoshiwara . 1678. [Mason, fig. 319]

            1765-1801

                     Harunobu 鈴木春信 (1725-1770) [Mason, fig. 321, 322]

•  Brocade prints (nishiki-e 錦繪):   polychrome woodblock prints

•  Surimono 刷り物:   privately commissioned prints, often elaborately printed

•  Pillar prints:   named for elongated format

Kiyonaga 鳥居清長 New Year's Scene:   Women Meeting on Nihonbashi Bridge .   1786.   Polycrhome woodblock print diptych on paper; each piece of paper 15 x 9 1/8 in. (38.1 x 23.2 cm.). (fig. 323)

Utamaro 喜多川歌麿 (1753-1806) Five Kinds of Ink from the Northern Province .   Early 1790s.   Polychrome woodblock print on paper; 15 x 9 1/8 in. (38.1 x 23.2 cm.) [Mason, figs. 326-27]

Kabuki Theater 歌舞伎

            1660-1760            

Torii Kiyomasu I 鳥居 (active 1697-mid 1720s). Goro uprooting bamboo tree . 1697.   Polychrome woodblock print on paper with hand coloring; 15 x 9 1/8 in. (38.1 x 23.2 cm).   [Mason, fig. 320]

•  Ichikawa Danjuro I 市川

            Popularized aragoto 荒事 or “rough stuff” style of acting

1765-1801

Sharaku 写楽 (dates unknown). “Yadorigi.” 1794.   Polychrome woodblock print with mica on background.   [Mason, fig. 325]