Hishikawa Moronobu was a Japanese artist known for popularizing the ukiyo-e genre of woodblock prints and paintings in the late 17th century. He consolidated the works of scattered Japanese art styles and forged the early development of ukiyo-e.
Bijin-ga hanging scroll (detail)
Beauty looking back. This painting was completed around the 17th century, depicting a beautiful woman wearing a kimono turning around. It was adopted as a stamp design around 1948 and became popular.
Courtesans parading with servants while holding umbrellas
Panel from a series of 12, in abuna-e style Late 1670s–early 1680s; Hishikawa Moronobu (1618-1694); Woodcut, sumi ink on paper
Ukiyo-e is a genre of Japanese art that flourished from the 17th through 19th centuries. Its artists produced woodblock prints and paintings of such subjects as female beauties; kabuki actors and sumo wrestlers; scenes from history and folk tales; travel scenes and landscapes; flora and fauna; and erotica. The term ukiyo-e translates as 'picture[s] of the floating world'.
Tokugawa Ieyasu established his government in the early 17th century in Edo (modern Tokyo).Portrait of Tokugawa Ieyasu, Kanō school painting, Kanō Tan'yū, 17th century
The Hikone screen may be the oldest surviving ukiyo-e work, dating to c. 1624–1644.
Early woodblock print, Hishikawa Moronobu, late 1670s or early 1680s
Standing portrait of a courtesanInk and colour painting on silk, Kaigetsudō Ando, c. 1705–10
