Art prints inspired by Japan's Edo period

This set of 3 prints is a homage to historical Japanese art and culture. All artworks used are in the public domain and are from a range of periods throughout Japanese history. Mostly depicted are images and woodblock prints from the Edo period, which flourished from 1615 to 1868. Under the strict ruling of the Tokugawa shogunate who governed Japan in a feudal system, ukiyo, a vibrant counterculture of vitality was born. Ukiyo, The Floating World, refers to both the cultural attitude of ‘going with the flow’, and the world of entertainment, such as the pleasure districts and Kabuki theatres in Japan’s three main cities, Edo, now known as Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto. From this arose the art form ukiyo-e, which consisted of woodblock prints and paintings. Ukiyo-e translates to ‘pictures of the floating world.’