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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[1]
- Benizuri-e (紅刷絵, "crimson picture"); primitive ukiyo-e style prints, usually printed in pink and green
- Bijin-ga (美人画); 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 by 10 inches (18 cm × 25 cm)
- Chūtanzaku (中短冊判); a print size about 14 by 5 inches (36 cm × 13 cm)
- Edo period (江戸時代, Edo jidai); 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
- Hashira-e (柱絵, "pillar print"); a print size about 28 by 4.5 inches (71 cm × 11 cm)
- Horishi (彫師); a carver of woodblocks
- Hosoban (細判); a print size about 13 by 5 inches (33 cm × 13 cm)
- 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, Ise monogatari); an uta monogatari, or collection of waka 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
- Ita-bokashi (板ぼかし, "block shading"); a technique for producing gradation achieved by sanding or abrading the edges of the carving
- Kakemono-e (掛物絵); an ōban 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 kappazuri.
- Karazuri (空摺); dry printing, embossing
- Kasure-bori (掠れ彫り, "scratch carving"); 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 by 3.2 inches (12.1 cm × 8.1 cm), sometimes called a "toy print"
- Mount Fuji (富士山, Fujisan); 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 by 10.5 inches (39 cm × 27 cm)
- 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
- Shin-hanga (新版画, "New prints"); 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 by 7 inches (20 cm × 18 cm), often used for surimono
- Shomen-zuri (正面摺, "front-printing"); a polishing technique sometimes used to create a shiny surface on black areas in prints
- Shunga (春画, "spring image"); 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[1]
- Tate-e (縦絵); a print in vertical or "portrait" format
- Tenpō Reforms (天保の改革, Tenpō no kaikaku); 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 (uchiwa)
- Uki-e (浮絵, "floating picture"); a picture using linear perspective
- Ukiyo (浮世, "the floating world"); 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.
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.
| name | translation | cm (in) |
|---|---|---|
| aiban (合判) | intermediate | 34 × 22.5 (13.4 × 8.9) |
| bai-ōban (倍大判) | intermediate | 45.7 × 34.5 (18.0 × 13.6) |
| chūban (中判) | medium | 26 × 19 (10.2 × 7.5) |
| hashira-e (柱絵) | pillar print | 73 × 12 (28.7 × 4.7) |
| hosoban (細判)or hoso-e (細絵)[2] | narrow | 33 × 14.5 (13.0 × 5.7) |
| 39 × 17 (15.4 × 6.7) | ||
| kakemono-e (掛物絵) | hanging scroll | 76.5 × 23 (30.1 × 9.1) |
| nagaban (長判) | long | 50 × 20 (19.7 × 7.9) |
| ōban (大判) | large | 38 × 25.5 (15.0 × 10.0) |
| 58 × 32 (23 × 13) | ||
| ō-tanzaku (大短冊判) | large poem card | 38 × 17 (15.0 × 6.7) |
| chū-tanzaku (中短冊判) | medium poem card | 38 × 13 (15.0 × 5.1) |
| surimono (摺物) | a genre of woodblock print | 35 × 20 (13.8 × 7.9) |
| 12 × 9 (4.7 × 3.5) –21 × 18 (8.3 × 7.1) | ||
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