The earliest prints were simple black and white prints taken from a single block. Sometimes these prints were coloured by hand, but this process was expensive. In the 1740s, additional woodblocks were used to print the

Ukiyo-e means ‘Pictures of the Floating World’. Images of everyday Japan, mass-produced for popular consumption in the Edo period (1615-1868), they represent one of the highpoints of Japanese cultural achievement. Popular themes include famous beauties and well-known actors, renowned landscapes, heroic tales and folk stories.

Ukiyo-e prints from the collection are available for study in the V&A Prints and Drawings study room. The art of ukiyo-e is most frequently associated with colour woodblock prints, popular in Japan from their development in 1765 until the closing decades of the Meiji period (1868-1912).

The earliest prints were simple black and white prints taken from a single block. Sometimes these prints were coloured by hand, but this process was expensive. In the 1740s, additional woodblocks were used to print the colours pink and green, but it wasn’t until 1765 that the technique of using multiple colour woodblocks was perfected. The glorious full colour prints that resulted were known as nishiki-e or ‘brocade pictures’. The art of ukiyo-e is most frequently associated with colour woodblock prints, popular in Japan from their development in 1765 until the closing decades of the Meiji period (1868-1912). The earliest prints were simple black and white prints taken from a single block. Sometimes these prints were coloured by hand, but this process was expensive.

• the publisher (who usually had overall control of the process)
• the designer
• the block cutter
• the printer

The production process

Prints could be produced quite cheaply and in large numbers. While only the wealthy could afford paintings by the artists of the day, ukiyo-e prints were enjoyed by a much wider audience. The subjects depicted in these prints reflect the interests and aspirations of the people who bought them.