The Floating World Takes Shape

Brocade Pictures: Harunobu and 1765

A decade of slender figures and soft color, 1765–1770s

In 1765 Edo printers began printing each color from its own carved block, one after another, so a sheet could carry many hues. Wealthy patrons first ordered them as New Year calendars, and the new prints became known as brocade pictures (nishiki-e).

• Calendars, private commissions and the first full-color sheets
• A delicate, youthful ideal of beauty
• Old poems and legends in modern dress

Works in this part

• Young Woman Riding a Phoenix
• Visit to a Shrine at the Hour of the Ox
• Parody of Minamoto no Tametomo
• Evening Chime of the Clock
• Woman Admiring Plum Blossoms at Night
• Lovers Walking in the Snow (Crow and Heron)
• Osen of the Kagiya Teahouse
• The Courtesan Nishikigi of the Yotsumeya Brothel
• Three Types of Drunks

Image: The Met Open Access · Public domain (Met Open Access)