List of ukiyo-e terms

This is a list of terms frequently encountered in the description of ukiyo-e (浮世絵)-style Japanese woodblock prints and paintings. For a list of print sizes, see below.


 * Aizuri-e (藍摺絵); "blue picture"
 * Aka-e (赤絵); "red picture"
 * Aratame (改); "examined" character found in many censor seals
 * Baren (馬連、馬楝); a tool used to rub the back of a sheet of paper to pick up ink from the block
 * Beni-e (紅絵); primitive ukiyo-e style prints, usually printed in pink
 * "crimson picture" (紅刷絵); primitive ukiyo-e style prints, usually printed in pink and green
 * Bijin-ga; pictures of beautiful women
 * Bokashi (printing) (ぼかし); technique of applying a gradation of ink to a moistened block to vary lightness and darkness (value) of a single colour
 * Censor seal; from 1790 until 1876 all woodblock prints had to be examined by official censors, and marked with their seals
 * Chūban (中判); a print size about 7 x
 * Chūtanzaku (中短冊判); a print size about 14 x
 * Edo period (江戸時代); dating from 1603 to 1868, the period when Japanese society was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate
 * E-hon (絵本); "picture book"
 * Fudezaishiki (筆彩色); colouring with a paintbrush
 * Furikake (振り掛け); powdered minerals or metals sprinkled onto a print during the production process
 * Gafu (画譜); album
 * Ganso (元祖); "founder" prefix, used on a print to indicate the publisher
 * Geisha (芸者); a common subject in ukiyo-e
 * Hanga (版画); a print
 * Hanmoto (版元); a publisher
 * "pillar print" (柱絵); a print size about 28 x
 * Horishi (彫師); a carver of woodblocks
 * Hosoban (細判); a print size about 13 x
 * Iro-ban (色板); a colour block
 * Jōge-e (上下絵); prints that can be viewed from either top or bottom
 * The Tales of Ise (伊勢物語); an, or collection of poems and associated narratives, dating from the Heian period
 * Ishizuri-e (石摺絵); a print that mimics a stone rubbing, with uninked images or text on a dark, usually black, background
 * "block shading" (板ぼかし); a technique for producing gradation achieved by sanding or abrading the edges of the carving
 * Kakemono-e (掛物絵); an diptych arranged one above the other (also a hanging scroll painting)
 * Kachō-ga (花鳥画); paintings of flowers and birds
 * Kakihan (書き判); the artist's tag, used on prints with (or instead of) a signature
 * Kamigata (上方); region of Japan referring to the cities of Kyoto and Osaka
 * Kappazuri (合羽摺); prints of a single colour (usually black) coloured by stenciling. Prints produced entirely by stenciling, without woodblocks, are also called.
 * Karazuri (空摺); dry printing, embossing
 * "scratch carving" (掠れ彫り); style of woodblock carving imitating dry brushstrokes
 * Kisokaidō (中山道); one of the Five Routes of the Edo period
 * Kiwame (極); "approved" character found in many censor seals
 * Kojita-e (小下絵); a rough sketch
 * Komochi-e (子持絵); prints with moveable parts
 * Mameban (豆判); a print size about 4.75 x, sometimes called a "toy print"
 * Mount Fuji (富士山); the highest mountain in Japan, a common subject
 * Musha-e (武者絵); warrior print
 * Namazu-e (鯰絵); prints depicting the Japanese mythological giant catfish, the Namazu (鯰)
 * Nikuhitsu-ga (肉筆画); a painting in the ukiyo-e style
 * Nishiki-e (錦絵); multi-coloured woodblock printing
 * Ōban (大判); a print size about 15.5 x
 * Ōkubi-e (大首絵); portrait prints, busts
 * Schools (流派): Schools of ukiyo-e artists
 * Senso-e (戰爭絵); prints depicting the Sino-Japanese and Russo-Japanese Wars
 * "New prints" (新版画); 20th century ukiyo-e revival prints
 * Shita-e (下絵); final preparatory drawing pasted onto the block for printing
 * Shikishiban (色紙判); a print size about 8 x, often used for
 * "front-printing" (正面摺); a polishing technique sometimes used to create a shiny surface on black areas in prints
 * "spring image" (春画); erotically themed art
 * Surimono (摺物); privately commissioned prints for special occasions such as the New Year
 * Surishi (摺師); a printer
 * Tan-e (丹絵); primitive ukiyo-e style prints, usually printed in red
 * Tate-e (縦絵); a print in vertical or "portrait" format
 * Tenpō Reforms (天保の改革); an array of economic policies introduced in 1842 by the Tokugawa Shogunate, precursor to Meiji Restoration
 * Tōkaidō (東海道); the most important of the Five Routes of the Edo period
 * Uchiwa-e (団扇絵); prints on paddle-shaped hand fans
 * "floating picture" (浮絵); a picture using linear perspective
 * "the floating world" (浮世); the culture of Edo-period Japan (1600–1867)
 * Urushi-e (漆絵); paintings painted with lacquer, and a printing style using ink that resembles the darkness and thickness of black lacquer
 * Waka (和歌); Japanese poetry
 * Washi (和紙); traditional Japanese paper
 * Yakusha-e (役者絵); prints of kabuki actors
 * Yoko-e (横絵); a print in horizontal or "landscape" format
 * Yokohama-e (横浜絵); prints depicting non-East Asian foreigners and scenes of Yokohama.

Print sizes
The Japanese terms for vertical (portrait) and horizontal (landscape) formats for images are tate-e (縦絵) and yoko-e (横絵), respectively.

Below is a table of common Tokugawa-period print sizes. Sizes varied depending on the period, and those given are approximate they are based on the pre-printing paper sizes, and paper was often trimmed after printing.