Introduction: The Visual Culture of the Edo Period

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I. Contents and organization. The Edô period (1615-1867) was a diverse, indeed an explosive, stage in the development of visual representation in Japan. In this unit, we will concentrate especially on the development of popular culture and the "floating world," and alternate realm of fantasy and play which revolved around the twin poles of the Yoshiwara licensed quarter and the kabuki theater. While we would barely be able to scratch the surface of Edo visual culture even with a whole semester devoted to the topic, we will be taking a brief look at three aspects of Edo visuality:

1. The floating world: image and text (gallery one)

2. Kabuki visuality (gallery two)

3. Vision, technology, and the West (gallery three)

II. Historical background (click here for Edo Introduction page 2-- a password restricted page).

III. Key terms (click here for Edo Introduction page 2-- a password restricted page).