Review Essay 10: In class we talked about the elite art of the aristocrats and samurai (warrior) status groups in Japan – painting of the Kanō and Tosa schools – and the popular art of woodblock prints that was produced and consumed in great numbers by the urban merchant (chōnin) population. Take a look at the woodblock print image below, and check out the Met Museum’s discussion of this object (click on “LISTEN” on the webpage). Look also at the Met’s discussion of the printing technique used to achieve the intense colors in this woodblock print. Compare this woodblock print to the one shown in Mason illustration 332 (p. 291, color image below). Review Mason’s discussion of Japanese woodblock prints, especially the section on Hokusai (pp. 289-291). Using the Met website and Mason text, first, fully identify these two works of art. Second, write a comparative essay in which you describe the subject matter, use of color and design of each print. Explain why these woodblock prints are examples of popular art that sold in great numbers to ordinary people in Edo Japan. Why were these prints so appealing to a popular audience in Edo Japan? What specific cultural trends in Edo Japan led to the rise of public interest in pictures of “famous places” and images of the bizarre and the uncanny? 2 pages (500 words),
