The Asian Center, together with the Japan Foundation, will be hosting an art exhibit, Spaces of the Floating World: Ukiyoe Landscapes of 19th Century Japan from 13 February 2014 to 31 March 2014 at the Japan Hall, Hall of Wisdom, GT-Toyota Asian Cultural Center, Asian Center, University of the Philippines Diliman. The exhibit opens at 3:00 PM on 13 February. Admission is free.
Ukiyo-e literally means “pictures of the floating world” in Japanese. They refer to colored woodblock prints that flourished during the Edo Period between the 17th and 19th centuries. The ukiyo-e were initially patronized as “pillow book” manuals to teach lovemaking, but eventually broadened its content to cover the plays and actors of Kabuki theater, as well as Japanese rural and urban landscapes.
Emerging in conjunction with the rise of the merchant class who had extensive trading networks throughout the country, they creatively fuse traditional Japanese aesthetics with Western artistic patterns and traditions. Ukiyo-e is said having inspired later Japanese art forms like manga and animé.
The exhibition at the Asian Center features thirty-five (35) ukiyo-e reproductions of original works of Hiroshige Utagawa (1757–1858) and Hokusai Katsushika (1760–1849), two greatest masters of the art form. The collection showcases two main themes of Edo landscapes: views from the countryside along the Tokaido highway, and regions near Edo that frame the view of Mount Fuji.
The exhibition curators are Dr. Reuben Ramas Cañete and Dr. Michiyo Yoneno-Reyes, both associate professors at the Asian Center. The exhibition aims to help raise awareness of Japanese culture among Filipinos, and promote Japanese studies in the Philippines. The Asian Center offers two Master's degrees in Asian Studies with Japan as country of specialization (thesis and non-thesis tracks).
For more inquiries, please contact Ryan Reyes or JR Sanchez at 981.8500 local 3580 or via telefax at 920.3535.