What is Ukioy-e?
Ukiyo-e (literally “pictures of the floating world”) is the name given to paintings and prints primarily depicting the transitory world of the licensed pleasure quarters (Yoshiwara), the theater and pleasure quarters of Edo, present-day Tokyo, Japan. It is a composite term of uki(floating), yo (world), and e (pictures). Originally, ukiyo was a Buddhist term to express the impermanence of human life. During the Edo Period (1615–1868), however, ukiyo came …