In collaboration with the Japan Foundation Kuala Lumpur, The Design School (TDS) at Taylor’s College presents the Ukiyo-e Exhibition featuring a set of 45 works by seven distinguished artists, such as Katsushika Hokusai, Utagawa Hiroshige, Tosyusai Syaraku and Kitagawa Utamaro.

The exhibition will be begin on October 1, and will run for two weeks until October 15 at The Gallery, Taylor’s College, Leisure Commerce Square, Petaling Jaya.

Ukiyo-e literally translated means “pictures of the floating world”. A genre of Japanese woodblock prints and paintings that came into flower in the Edo period, it featured common themes, such as landscapes, the theatre and courtesans.

The early Ukiyo-e was actually a type of painting and mainly used Indian ink. However, as time went by, Ukiyo-e developed from paintings to prints. These prints were affordable because they could be mass produced and appealed to the townspeople who could not buy more expensive paintings.It was the collaboration among the merchants, artists, publishers and townspeople of Edo that gave Ukiyo-eits unique voice. Ukiyo-e constantly expanded to reflect contemporary tastes, concerns, and innovations over the two and a half centuries of its development. It represents one of the great achievements of the Edo and Meiji periods, and it is said that there was no finer graphic art ever produced in the woodblock medium anywhere in the world.