Write a note on ukiyo painting

In Japanese art, the term Ukiyo-e ("pictures of the floating world") is commonly used to describe woodblock prints and paintings from the period (c.1670-1900). Due to their cheap price and attractive appearance, these Japanese woodcuts became hugely popular with ordinary townspeople in the metropolitan culture of Edo (Tokyo), during the second half of the 17th century. The prints usually depicted landscapes, tales from history, scenes from the Kabuki theatre, as well as courtesans, geisha and other aspects of everyday city life. If initially considered ephemeral and vulgar, Ukiyo-e became the dominant art movement in Japan during the period, where it was appreciated above all as a colourful form of decorative art. It was also the principal type of printmaking in the country. By the 1860s, large quantities of inexpensive Japanese prints and other artifacts were arriving in European ports.