The Riddles of Ukiyo-e: Women and Men in Japanese Prints

Drawing on images of women and men from the heyday of Japanese printmaking, this book explores the subtle iconography and complex symbols inherent in the tradition of ukiyo-e (traditional Japanese woodblock printing meaning 'Fleeting World'). The intriguing elements refer to Japanese history, literature, mythology, fashion, folklore and gossip of the Edo period and are at times difficult to discern, let alone grasp, without proper knowledge. Divided into classic printmaking themes such as beautiful women, heroes, actors and shunga (erotic prints), this lavishly illustrated book provides readers with the keys to understanding the hidden meanings in more than 100 top Japanese prints. 

Beautiful women – including ladies from Edo's famous Yoshiwara brothel district – take up much of the book. Heroes and villains illustrate Japan's rich mythological and pseudo-historical past. The popular pastimes of kabuki and sumo are also covered: famous actors play their best-known roles as brave men or delicate geisha. These colourful masterpieces demonstrate the economy of line and powerful expression of the woodblock medium. Each print is explored in the finest detail in order to explain the many riddles of ukiyo-e – that intriguing and captivating mode of visual expression that had such a profound influence on Western art.

About the Authors:

Chris Uhlenbeck has been a dealer in Japanese prints for 40 years. He acted as curator of many exhibitions in the field of Japanese art, starting with the major retrospective exhibition on 20th-century Japanese prints from the Robert O. Muller collection in 1992 for the National Museum of Ethnology in Leiden, The Fondation L'Hermitage in Lausanne and the Musée Marmottan in Paris. From 2007, he fulfilled the role of curator of the Nihon no Hanga museum in Amsterdam for 10 years. Between 2011 and 2021 he created various exhibitions in the Japan Museum SieboldHuis in Leiden: on Hiroshige (2011), Yoshitoshi (2012) Kuniyoshi (2013), Kunisada (2015) and recently on Gekko (2020). He is co-author of the recent Ludion publication Shin Hanga: The New Prints of Japan 1900–1960 (2022).

Josephine Smit is a scholar and lecturer who obtained her master's degree in Japanese Studies from Leiden University, The Netherlands. Specialising in Japanese politics and international relations, she wrote her master's thesis on the evolution of post-disaster mental health care responses in Japan after conducting research for a year at Kobe University, Japan. As a freelancer, Smit lectures on kimono culture. Smit is currently employed as a Japanologist at both Japan Museum SieboldHuis and Hotei Japanese Prints in Leiden doing Ukiyo-e related research and exhibition management.

Jim Dwinger is a scholar of Japanese art history with a specialization in woodblock prints. He is co-author of the recent Ludion publication Shin Hanga: The New Prints of Japan 1900–1960 (2022) and is currently involved in preparing an upcoming catalogue of prints by Utagawa Hiroshige. He is also a member of the editorial board of Andon, Journal of the Society for Japanese Art.