Utamaro, Hokusai Hiroshige: Geisha, Samurai and the Culture of Pleasure
Francesco Paolo Campione and Marco Fagioli
he so-called Edo period (1603–1868) was extremely productive for Japan from a historical and artistic standpoint; later its influence would extend beyond the archipelago, as far as the West, where it gave rise to a real passion for Japanese aesthetics and culture. The term ukiyo-e, which translates as “pictures of a floating world,” refers to the woodblock colour prints that were first created in the Edo period by combining the talents of painters like Utamaro, Hokusai, and Hiroshige with the absolute mastery of block carvers and printers. These prints are the highest aesthetic expression of what could be called a “culture of pleasure,” pervaded by the awareness that the beauties of life must be enjoyed to the full because they are bound to end. The book offers a chance to discover the world of Japanese ukiyo-e prints through over 300 works by some of the most important artists, and the themes that characterize them: from elegant female beauties to delicate flowers and birds, famous kabuki actors, valiant samurai, and even erotic subjects with their insouciant celebration of love.
Francesco Paolo Campione, author and curator, teaches Cultural Anthropology at the University of Insubria (Como) and is Director of the Museo delle Culture in Lugano.
Marco Fagioli, art historian and critic, has edited many books and essays on Chinese and Japanese painting, shunga and Postimpressionist artists.
Moira Luraschi, anthropologist, is curator of the Oriental collections of the Museo delle Culture in Lugano, for which she has edited several publications on Japanese art.
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