Mother and Child Ukiyoe Woodblock Print from Japan
Here at Now & Zen we love to look at the old woodblock prints produced during the Japanese Genre of Ukiyo-e or also known as, ‘The Floating World’. Below is a description (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia):
Ukiyo-e (“pictures of the floating world”) is a genre of Japanese woodblock prints (or woodcuts) and paintings produced between the 17th and the 20th centuries, featuring motifs of landscapes, tales from history, the theatre, and pleasure quarters. It is the main artistic genre of woodblock printing in Japan.
Usually the word ukiyo is literally translated as “floating world” in English, referring to a conception of an evanescent world, impermanent, fleeting beauty and a realm of entertainments (kubuki, courtesans, geisha) divorced from the responsibilities of the mundane, everyday world; “pictures of the floating world”, i.e. ukiyo-e, are considered a genre unto themselves.
The contemporary novelist Asai, in his Ukiyo monogatari ( “Tales of the Floating World”, c. 1661), provides some insight into the concept of the floating world:
“… Living only for the moment, turning our full attention to the pleasures of the moon, the snow, the cherry blossoms and the maple leaves; singing songs, drinking wine, diverting ourselves in just floating, floating; … refusing to be disheartened, like a gourd floating along with the river current: this is what we call the floating world…”
Zen Clock with Chime Inspired by Ukiyoe Prints and Ink Painting techniques from Japan
Now & Zen Store
1638 Pearl Street
Boulder, CO 80302
Posted in Japanese Inspired Zen Clocks, Now & Zen Alarm Clocks
