Pictures of the Floating World

Ukiyo-e, pictures of the floating world, were the popular prints of Edo, sold cheaply to townspeople. They showed kabuki actors and beauties, famous places, and heroes from history and legend.

Hokusai made bold warrior prints in which the armour is as much the subject as the fighters. A generation later, Utagawa Hiroshige began One Hundred Famous Views of Edo in 1856, a series of street corners, rivers and shrines drawn for people who knew them well.

These pieces keep their original colours. The warrior prints are restored by hand from scans of the original sheets, cleaned and repaired so they print sharply at large sizes.