Plum Blossoms and the Moon. Katsushika Hokusai (葛飾 北斎, 1760 – 1849) was a Japanese artist, Ukiyo-e painter and printmaker of the Edo period. In his time, he was Japan's leading expert on Chinese painting. Born in Edo (now Tokyo), Hokusai is best-known as author of the woodblock print series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (富嶽三十六景 Fugaku Sanjūroku-kei, c. 1831) which includes the internationally recognized print, The Great Wave off Kanagawa, created during the 1820s
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Kitagawa Utamaro (1753 – October 31, 1806) was a Japanese printmaker and painter, who is considered one of the greatest artists of woodblock prints (ukiyo-e). His name was romanized archaically asOutamaro. He is known especially for his masterfully composed studies of women, known as bijinga.
His work reached Europe in the mid-nineteenth century, where it was very popular, enjoying particular acclaim inFrance. He influenced the European Impressionists, particularly with his use of partial views and his emphasis on light and shade. The reference to the "Japanese influence" among these artists often refers to the work of Utamaro.
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The Maple Trees – Maple trees at Mama, Tekona Shrine and Linked Bridge. Print shows a bird's-eye view through maple trees of the Tekona Shrine with thatch-roofed buildings a grove of trees, with mountains in the distance. Ando Hiroshige (1797-1858), Japanese painter and printmaker, known especially for his landscape prints. The last great figure of the Ukiyo-e, or popular, school of printmaking, he transmuted everyday landscapes into intimate, lyrical scenes that made him even more successful than his contemporary, Hokusai.