Ukiyo-e is translated as "pictures of the floating world," and generally refers to the genre of Japanese woodblock print featuring motifs of seasonal landscapes, historic tales, the theater, and the high-class red-light district these themes being themselves examples of the floating world, the impermanence of life. These prints, being “multiples”, made art available for the common person, but might later wind up as filler for packing a crate, hence retarding their appreciation in the West as a cherishable art. Today, however, such eminent ukiyo-e artists as Hiroshige, Harunobu, Hokusai, and Utamaro are known by name, so we can now really appreciate their paintings, a major source of income for them, and in which their marvelous vision and stunning technical skills finds fullest expression.

- from the Review by Gary Gach