Tokugawa Ieyasu was the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate, which ruled Japan from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration of 1868. The Edo period dates from 1615, when Ieyasu defeated his enemies at Osaka Castle. It is named for the city of Edo (modern Tokyo), the new capital he built. A vibrant urban culture developed in Edo, which by 1700 was a metropolis with a population of more than one million. In the Edo period the merchant class became important consumers of new forms of visual art.

The paintings of the Rinpa School are outstanding creations of the Edo period that also influenced modern painting in the West (famously the work of Gustav Klimt). Rinpa paintings are character-ized by bold compositions, a playful spirit, and showy materials, such as gold and silver leaf. An example is Ogata Korin’s folding screen Red and White Plum Blossoms (ca. 1714–15, MOA Museum of Art, Atami, Japan). The Edo period also witnessed major developments in porcelain manufacturing. The pioneers of Japanese porcelain were Korean potters brought to Japan during the Momoyama period. These potters settled in Kyushu and exported porcelain wares via the Dutch East India Company (see Kakiemon).

The iconic artworks of the Edo period are the paintings and wood-block prints known collectively as ukiyo-e, “pictures of the floating world”. (The floating world was the pleasure quarter of Edo, famous for its brothels, kabuki theaters, and tea shops). The most famous ukiyo-e masters are Katsushika Hokusai (1760–1849) and Utagawa Hiroshige (1797– 1858). Web resources here, here, and here.

Utagawa Hiroshige. Night View of Saruwakacho. From the series One Hundred Views of Sights in Edo. Woodblock print. 1856-58.