From Japonisme to Modern Manga and Anime — 400 Years That Reached the World

What Is Japonisme? — The “Foreign Object” That Fell into Western Painting

Japonisme is a great trend of Japanese-art love that occurred in late-19th-century Europe. In particular, ukiyo-e (Hokusai, Hiroshige, Utamaro, Kuniyoshi) delivered a decisive influence to Western painters centered in Paris.

This was not just an exotic fashion, but a historical event that altered Western painting itself. Impressionism, post-impressionism, art nouveau, and fin-de-siècle art all contain learning from ukiyo-e.

• Period: 1860s-1900s (about 40 years)
• Places: Paris (center), London, Vienna, Munich
• Painters influenced: Monet, Degas, Manet, Van Gogh, Toulouse-Lautrec, Klimt, Whistler, and others
• Where the influence went: Impressionism, post-impressionism, art nouveau, graphic design

Origins — From Ceramics Buffering

The “Discovery” of 1856

In 1856, at the shop of the printer Delâtre in Paris, the printmaker Félix Bracquemond (1833-1914) accidentally discovered a copy of Hokusai Manga used as buffering for a Japanese ceramic.

• For the export of ceramics, old prints and picture-books had been used as buffering
• Bracquemond was immediately shocked by the freshness of the lines and composition
• He introduced it to painter friends, and ukiyo-e spread in the Paris art world

This is the origin of Japonisme. Merely accidental, but decisive for the following 40 years of Western art.

The 1867 Paris Exposition

In 1867, at the Second Paris Universal Exposition, the late-Edo Japan (Tokugawa shogunate + Saga domain, Satsuma domain) exhibited. This was the first official occasion when Westerners could see large quantities of Japanese art.

• Ukiyo-e, ceramics, lacquerware, weapons, kimono
• A Japan pavilion was set up, and Parisians flocked to it
• The Goncourt brothers (novelists, art critics) highly praised it
• Manet, Degas, Monet and others actually saw Japanese art at this exposition

The Paris Exposition is the institutional beginning of Japonisme. From then on, Parisian art dealers and collectors began handling Japanese art.

The Print Dealer Siegfried Bing

Siegfried Bing (1838-1905) was the most influential Japanese-art dealer in Paris:

• Around 1875, opened the Japanese-art specialty shop “Le Japon Artistique” in Paris
• 1888-1891, published the monthly magazine Le Japon Artistique (36 issues)
• 1895, opened the “L’Art Nouveau” gallery in Paris
• Sold ukiyo-e to Van Gogh, Monet, Toulouse-Lautrec, and others

Bing is the agent who made the equation “Japanese art = Art Nouveau.” The modern art term “Art Nouveau” was born from Bing’s shop name.

Influence on Impressionism

Édouard Manet (1832-1883)

• Portrait of Émile Zola (1868) — a sumo print and folding screen of ukiyo-e in the background
• Zola was a Japanese-art enthusiast, and Manet drew that into the picture
• Composition of flat color surfaces influenced by ukiyo-e

Claude Monet (1840-1926)

• Began collecting ukiyo-e in the 1860s
• Ukiyo-e collection at his home in Giverny (still remains, about 230 pieces)
• La Japonaise (1876) — his wife Camille drawn in Japanese kimono
• Water Lilies series (1899-1926) — Japanese-bridge and water depiction influenced by ukiyo-e
• The Japanese Bridge (1899) — draws the bridge at Giverny

Monet’s love of Japanese art continued his whole life, and he kept collecting ukiyo-e until he died. Today’s Monet’s home at Giverny is one of the world’s greatest Monet + ukiyo-e collections.

Edgar Degas (1834-1917)

• Studied the motion sketches in Hokusai Manga
• Poses of Degas’s ballet dancers — the combat and dance poses of Hokusai Manga
• Oblique composition and viewpoints learned from Hokusai Manga
• From the female bathing pictures in Hokusai Manga, Degas’s series of bathing women

Degas used ukiyo-e as a textbook of the form of motion. His devotion to Hokusai Manga is especially clear.

Mary Cassatt (1844-1926)

• American-born, active in Paris
• Received decisive influence from Utamaro’s mother-and-child pictures
• Mother and Child series — translation of Utamaro’s form into oil
• 1890, saw the great Japanese-art exhibition in Paris, which decided her later style

Cassatt was the only American woman painter among the impressionists. She learned the subject of motherhood as a woman from Utamaro.

Influence on Post-Impressionism — Van Gogh

Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890)

The painter most directly influenced by ukiyo-e:

Collecting Ukiyo-e

• Began collecting ukiyo-e around 1885 in Paris
• Together with his brother Theo van Gogh, owned over 400 pieces of ukiyo-e
• Now held at the Van Gogh Museum (Amsterdam)

Mention in Letters

In a letter to his brother Theo (1888):

If we study Japanese art, we all become happier and more cheerful — anyone, at any time. If we seek Japonism, we should go to the countryside. If we love nature like the Japanese, we will be happier.

Van Gogh’s move to the south (Arles, 1888) had the aspect of “seeking a bright landscape like Japan’s.”

Direct Copies

• The Bridge in the Rain (Copy of Hiroshige) (1887) — oil copy of Hiroshige’s Ōhashi Atake no Yūdachi
• Japonaiserie: Oiran (1887) — oil copy of ukiyo-e by Keisai Eisen
• Japonaiserie: Plum Blossoms (1887) — oil copy of Hiroshige’s Kameido Ume-yashiki
• Portrait of Père Tanguy (1887) — ukiyo-e drawn into the background

Influence on Style

• Emphasis on outline (the ink line of ukiyo-e)
• Flat color surfaces (the planarity of ukiyo-e)
• Cut-out viewpoints (oblique, from above, from below)
• The swirling sky of Starry Night (1889) — direct influence of the wave of Hokusai’s Kanagawa Oki Namiura

The visual language of Van Gogh’s late representative works (Sunflowers, Starry Night, Bedroom) is not possible without ukiyo-e.

Influence on Art Nouveau

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901)

• The father of poster art
• Posters of Moulin Rouge series (1891-)
• Flat color surfaces, strong outlines, oblique composition — all influence of ukiyo-e
• Especially learned from the actor prints and bijin-ga of Tōshūsai Sharaku and Kitagawa Utamaro

Toulouse-Lautrec’s way of depicting cabaret entertainers can be said to be the direct heir of Edo actor prints.

Alphonse Mucha (1860-1939)

• From Bohemia, active in Paris
• Representative artist of Art Nouveau
• The stage posters of Sarah Bernhardt — ukiyo-e’s vertical composition and decorative lines
• Four Seasons series — Edo ukiyo-e female figures + Western decoration

Gustav Klimt (1862-1918)

• Center of the Vienna Secession
• The Kiss (1907-08) — flat gold ground and decorative patterns
• Strong influence of folding-screen painting (including Rinpa)
• Klimt’s collection had many ukiyo-e

Whistler and “Depicting Fog”

James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903)

American-born, active in London:

• The Princess from the Land of Porcelain (Purple and Rose: The Lange Leizen of the Six Marks) (1863-64) — a model in Japanese kimono
• Nocturne series — night scenes of London fog
• Direct influence of Hiroshige’s mist pictures
• Signed with a butterfly mark (Eastern-style seal)

Whistler’s misty London is the translation of Hiroshige’s misty Japan. This is Japonisme’s development through America.

Summary of Influences — What They Learned

What Western masters learned from ukiyo-e concretely:

1. Flatness

• Against the Western-painting convention of perspective and shading, ukiyo-e’s flat color surface was a shock
• The background of Monet’s La Japonaise, Toulouse-Lautrec’s posters

2. Contour Line

• Western painting makes form with color; ukiyo-e makes form with line
• Van Gogh’s late oil paintings have clear outlines
• Same for Toulouse-Lautrec’s posters

3. Asymmetry

• Against the Western-painting convention of central symmetry, ukiyo-e’s oblique, edge-shifted composition
• Degas’s ballet dancers, Cassatt’s mother-and-child

4. Bold Color Blocks

• A method of painting large areas in one color
• Van Gogh’s Starry Night, Monet’s Water Lilies

5. Perspective Experiments

• Extreme close-up (foreground made huge), extreme far view (made small)
• Overhead view, upward view
• Toulouse-Lautrec’s posters, Monet’s water surface

6. Everyday Subjects

• Not kings and religious paintings, but everyday women and landscape
• The everyday character of impressionism is a direct influence of ukiyo-e

The World-Historical Significance of Japonisme

1. Catalyst of the “Modernization” of Western Art

Some art historians say that without Japonisme, the development impressionism → post-impressionism → art nouveau → cubism → abstract painting would not have happened. At least it was a great catalyst.

2. Change in the Structure of “West vs. Non-West”

Until the middle of the 19th century, Western art did not have the attitude of “learning from non-Western art.” Japonisme was the first case that broke this structure. This also leads to the later reception of African art → Picasso and Oceanian art → Gauguin.

3. The Birth of Graphic Design

The visual grammar of modern advertising, posters, and magazines was established through Art Nouveau = Japonisme. It also directly connects to 21st-century brand design.

20th Century — The Continuation of Japonisme

Reverse Import to Shin-Hanga

• 1900-1950, the shin-hanga of Kawase Hasui and Itō Shinsui was exported to Europe and America
• The continuation of Japonisme economically supported shin-hanga
• Steve Jobs’s love of Hasui also comes in this flow

Architecture and Crafts

• Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959) — American architect, great collector of ukiyo-e
• Japanese-art influence in Wright’s architecture (Imperial Hotel, Fallingwater)
• Charles Rennie Mackintosh, William Morris and the Arts and Crafts movement

Modern Art

• In the second half of the 20th century, Japonisme expands to a broader “interest in Japanese culture”
• Also includes Zen, calligraphy, ikebana, tea ceremony, architecture

21st Century — Continuation to Manga and Anime

The “Cool Japan” Phenomenon

Since the 2000s, Japanese manga, anime, and games have been received globally:

• Studio Ghibli films (Spirited Away, 2001 Academy Award for Best Animated Feature)
• Global hits of Dragon Ball, One Piece, Naruto
• Pokémon’s global brand
• In the 2020s, the explosive overseas hit of Demon Slayer and Jujutsu Kaisen

This is also called “the second Japonisme.”

Connection between Ukiyo-e and Modern Manga

Behind the global reception of modern manga and anime, in the 19th-century Japonisme the recognition “Japanese pictures are interesting” was already present in the West:

• Flat depiction → the drawing style of manga
• Emphasis on outlines → the black lines of manga
• Everyday subjects → the everyday stories of manga
• Character stylization → the semiotics of manga

That is, the ground for the global reception of “Japanese visual culture” was laid 150 years ago in Japonisme.

Concrete Examples of Influence

• Akira (Ōtomo Katsuhiro, 1982-90) — influenced French BD (bande dessinée)
• Ghost in the Shell (Shirow Masamune, 1989-) — influenced Hollywood SF
• Miyazaki Hayao’s works — cited by film directors worldwide
• Dragon Ball — overwhelming generational influence in the US, Europe, and South America

2020s — Netflix and Global Distribution

• Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+ distribute Japanese anime globally
• Overseas readers of Jump+ grow rapidly
• Demon Slayer (2020) exceeds 400 million USD in global box office
• Global recognition of Jujutsu Kaisen (2023-)

This is Japonisme 2.0 — the global permeation of Japan’s visual culture.

The Whole Picture of 400 Years of Ukiyo-e

The Six Phases (Recap)

1. Late 17th c. — Birth by Iwasa Matabei and Hishikawa Moronobu
2. 1760s-1780s — Birth of the nishiki-e by Suzuki Harunobu
3. 1790s — The peak of figure painting by Utamaro and Sharaku
4. 1830s-1860s — Landscape by Hokusai and Hiroshige, warrior prints and bijin-ga by Kuniyoshi and Kunisada
5. 1900s-1950s — Shin-hanga and sōsaku-hanga (Kawase Hasui, Munakata Shikō)
6. Late 19th c.-21st c. — Japonisme, modern manga and anime

Main Painters of 400 Years (in Order of Era)

• Iwasa Matabei (1578-1650) — ancestor of ukiyo-e
• Hishikawa Moronobu (c. 1618-1694) — established the single-sheet print
• Torii Kiyonobu (1664-1729) — established actor prints
• Suzuki Harunobu (c. 1725-1770) — birth of the nishiki-e
• Katsukawa Shunshō (1726-1793) — similitude actor prints
• Torii Kiyonaga (1752-1815) — eight-headed beauty
• Kitagawa Utamaro (c. 1753-1806) — peak of bijin-ga
• Tōshūsai Sharaku (?-?) — ten months of mystery
• Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) — landscape revolution
• Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858) — lyrical landscape
• Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865) — king of mass production
• Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1798-1861) — innovator of warrior prints and caricature
• Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839-1892) — bridge to the Meiji
• Hashiguchi Goyō (1881-1921) — bijin-ga of the Taishō
• Kawase Hasui (1883-1957) — the Shōwa Hiroshige
• Munakata Shikō (1903-1975) — great master of world recognition

The Development of Subjects Over 400 Years

• 17th c. — women and courtesan manners
• 18th c. — beauty, actor, mitate
• First half of the 19th c. — landscape and famous places
• Second half of the 19th c. — warrior, yōkai, the weird
• 20th c. — landscape, beauty, Buddhism, war
• 21st c. — inheritance to manga and anime

The Development of Technique Over 400 Years

• 1670s — sumizuri-e (one black color)
• 1710s-1740s — tan-e, beni-e (hand-coloring)
• 1740s-1760s — benizuri-e (2-3 colors)
• From 1765 — nishiki-e (full multicolor printing)
• From the 1830s — introduction of Bero-ai (Prussian Blue)
• From the 1900s — shin-hanga (revival of traditional technique)
• 20th c. — sōsaku-hanga and hanga (individual production)

Ukiyo-e as a “Cultural Apparatus”

What becomes clear through the 400 years is that ukiyo-e was not merely “pictures,” but a cultural apparatus:

1. The Mass Media of Edo

• Hundreds of new works a month, thousands of prints a year
• Of Edo’s 1 million population, hundreds of thousands bought ukiyo-e
• Actor prints and bijin-ga are the modern idol photographs
• Landscape is the modern tourism guide
• Warrior prints are the modern game and film posters
• Caricature is the modern manga and 4-panel comic
• Shunga is modern adult expression
• Yōkai pictures are modern horror and occult

2. Accumulation of Artisanal Technique

• Division of labor of painter, engraver, and printer
• Materials of washi, pigment, and woodblock
• Techniques of register, gradation, and mica printing
• Artisans passed on technique for 400 years

3. Transmission to the World

• Edo era was domestic consumption
• Late Meiji — outflow overseas (Japonisme)
• 20th c. — export via shin-hanga
• 21st c. — global reception via manga and anime

Ukiyo-e is one crystallization of “the universe of Japanese visual culture.” Modern Japanese manga, anime, and games are all — directly or indirectly — connected to ukiyo-e.

Ukiyo-e for Modern Japanese People

Reviewing ukiyo-e from the modern viewpoint:

1. Prototype of “Japaneseness”

• Mount Fuji = the image of Hokusai’s Kanagawa Oki Namiura
• The Tōkaidō = Hiroshige’s pictures
• Beauty = Utamaro’s ōkubi-e
• Yōkai = Yoshitoshi and Kuniyoshi

Much of the image of “Japaneseness” that modern Japanese people hold was actually made in Edo ukiyo-e.

2. Ukiyo-e as Culture

• The main painters are included in middle- and high-school art textbooks
• Subjects for stamps and banknotes
• Signs and pamphlets at tourist sites
• Corporate logos and advertising

Ukiyo-e has deeply permeated the modern Japanese visual sense as a basic literacy of Japanese culture.

3. Japan’s Face in the World

• Hokusai’s Kanagawa Oki Namiura = the best-known Japanese art in the world
• Utamaro’s bijin-ga = a part of the world’s image of Japanese culture
• Katsushika Hokusai = one of the best-known Japanese artists in the world

From This Article — The End of the Series

The 400 Years of Ukiyo-e series ends here as a completion of 17 articles + overview = 18 pieces.

From Hishikawa Moronobu (17th c.) to Munakata Shikō (20th c.), and to 21st-century manga and anime, we have traced the lineage of over 400 years of Japanese visual culture.

Composition of the Series (Final)

• Phase 1 (Birth): 01-04 = 4 articles (origins, Moronobu, Torii school, woodblock technique)
• Phase 2 (Birth of Nishiki-e): 05-06 = 2 articles (Harunobu, Shunshō and Kiyonaga)
• Phase 3 (Peak of Figure Painting): 07-08 = 2 articles (Utamaro, Sharaku)
• Phase 4 (Age of Landscape): 09-11 = 3 articles (Hokusai Fugaku, Hokusai Manga, Hiroshige Tōkaidō)
• Phase 5 (Late Edo, Meiji): 12-13 = 2 articles (Kunisada/Kuniyoshi, Yoshitoshi)
• Phase 6 (20th c.): 14-15 = 2 articles (shin-hanga, Munakata)
• Themes: 16-17 = 2 articles (genre overview, Japonisme)

17 articles in total, tracing the lineage of ukiyo-e from the 17th to the 21st century through painters, works, techniques, genres, and global influence.

“Why Has Ukiyo-e Lived for 400 Years?”

Answers that have emerged through this series:

1. The mass-production system of the Edo era — could produce in bulk through the division of labor of painter, engraver, and printer
2. Diversity of subject — covered every side of life from bijin-ga to yōkai pictures
3. Evolution of technique — 400 years of sumizuri → benizuri → nishiki-e → shin-hanga
4. Inheritance of artisanal technique — after the Meiji Restoration, technique survived through shin-hanga
5. Global transmission — 19th-century Japonisme, 20th-century shin-hanga export
6. Inheritance to today — in the background of the 21st-century global reception of manga and anime

These six supported the 400-year life-force.

Prospect Toward the 22nd Century

From 2026, it is difficult to predict Japanese visual culture in the 22nd century (2100s). But what is certain:

• The genes of ukiyo-e will live on within manga, anime, and games
• The global reception of Japanese visual culture will spread further
• Within new technology (AI, VR, metaverse), ukiyo-e’s planarity, line, and subject will be re-interpreted
• Fusion with the other cultures of the world will accelerate

The 400 years of ukiyo-e have laid the ground for “reaching the world” for Japanese visual culture. Its journey will continue from here.

To Close, with Hokusai’s Words

Let us close this series with the words Hokusai left in the postscript of Fugaku Hyakkei:

From the age of six I had a habit of copying the shapes of things, around fifty I had published many pictures, but what I painted before 70 is really not worth taking. At 73 I began to grasp somewhat the skeleton of birds, beasts, insects, and fish, and the growth of grasses and trees. Therefore at 86 I shall have advanced yet more; at 90 I shall have penetrated their inner meaning; and by 100 I shall be truly wonderful. And at 110, every dot, every stroke shall be as if alive.

Hokusai’s thought that “painting improves over a lifetime” is a universal message that reaches modern artists and creators too. The 400 years of ukiyo-e is also an accumulation of this attitude.

Deep thanks to readers who have read through the 18 pieces of the 400 Years of Ukiyo-e series to the end. May this series serve as one entrance to the universe of ukiyo-e.