are a type of "primitive" ''

ukiyo-e is a genre of Japanese art that flourished from the 17th through 19th centuries. Its artists produced woodblock printing, woodblock prints and Nikuhitsu-ga, paintings of such subjects as female beauties; kabuki actors and sumo wrestlers; scenes ...

'' style Japanese woodblock prints. They were usually printed in

pink Pink is a pale tint of red, the color of the Dianthus plumarius, pink flower. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, p ...

(''beni'') and green, occasionally with the addition of another color, either printed or added by hand. The production of ''benizuri-e'' reached its peak in the early 1740s. Torii Kiyohiro, Torii Kiyomitsu I, Torii Kiyonobu I,

Okumura Masanobu Okumura Masanobu (; 1686 – 13 March 1764) was a Japanese print designer, book publisher, and painter. He also illustrated novelettes and in his early years wrote some fiction. At first his work adhered to the Torii school, but later drifted be ...

, Nishimura Shigenaga, and Ishikawa Toyonobu are the artists most closely associated with ''benizuri-e''.

Gallery of benizuri-e

Woodblock print by Ishikawa Toyonobu of kabuki actors Onoe Kikugoro I and Nakamura Kiyosaburo.jpg, Woodblock print by Ishikawa Toyonobu of

kabuki is a classical form of Theatre of Japan, Japanese theatre, mixing dramatic performance with Japanese traditional dance, traditional dance. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily stylised performances, its glamorous, highly decorated costumes ...

actors Onoe Kikugorō I and

Nakamura Kiyosaburō Nakamura may refer to: * Nakamura (surname), a list of people with the surname * Nakamura, Kōchi, a former city in Kōchi Prefecture, Japan * Nakamura-ku, Nagoya, a ward in Nagoya city in Aichi Prefecture, Japan * Nakamura stable, a stable of sumo ...

as a young seated couple playing a

shamisen The , also known as or (all meaning "three strings"), is a three-stringed traditional Japanese musical instrument derived from the Chinese instrument . It is played with a plectrum called a bachi. The Japanese pronunciation is usually b ...

signed 'Meijōdō Ishikawa Shūha Toyonobu zu', 1750-1758 Actors Nakamura Shichisaburô II and Sanogawa Ichimatsu, Toyonobu, 1740s, signed Meijôdô Ishikawa Shûha Toyonobu zu, MFA.jpg, Woodblock print by Ishikawa Toyonobu of

actors Nakamura Shichisaburō II and Sanogawa Ichimatsu, signed 'Meijōdō Ishikawa Shūha Toyonobu zu', 1740s Kiyomitsu I- Ichikawa Ebizô II as Yanone Gorô in 'Koizome Sumidagawa', HAA.jpg, Actor Ichikawa Ebizō II as Yanone Gorō in the kabuki play ''Koizome Sumidagawa'', woodblock print by Torii Kiyomitsu I,

Honolulu Museum of Art The Honolulu Museum of Art (formerly the Honolulu Academy of Arts) is an art museum in Honolulu, Hawaii, Hawaii. The museum is the largest of its kind in the state, and was founded in 1922 by Anna Rice Cooke. It has one of the largest single co ...

Sei Shonagon - Tsukioka Settei.png, 18th century Benizuri-e of

Sei Shōnagon , or , was a Japanese author, poet, and court lady who served the Empress Teishi (Sadako) around the year 1000, during the middle Heian period. She is the author of . Name Sei Shōnagon's actual given name is not known. It was the custom amon ...

, author of ''

The Pillow Book is a book of observations and musings recorded by Sei Shōnagon during her time as court lady to Fujiwara no Teishi, Empress Consort Teishi during the 990s and early 1000s in Heian-period Japan. The book was completed in the year 1002. The wor ...

'', attributed to Tsukioka Settei

References

* Lane, Richard. (1978). ''Images from the Floating World, The Japanese Print.'' Oxford: Oxford University Press.
OCLC 5246796
* Newland, Amy Reigle. (2005). ''Hotei Encyclopedia of Japanese Woodblock Prints.'' Amsterdam: Hotei.
OCLC 61666175
* Roberts, Laurance P., ''A Dictionary of Japanese Artists'', Tokyo, Weatherhill, 1976, 218. {{Ukiyo-e Ukiyo-e genres