The word Ukiyo came out of the Genroku Era, considered to be the golden age of the Edo Period. Ukiyo originally meant “sorrowful world”. Asai Ryoi, a writer, later changed the meaning of Ukiyo to “floating world” (Delay 104). This was a play on words because “uki” can mean either sorrowful or floating depending on the context (Tsunoda 434- 435).
During the Genroku Era different forms of art flourished."Ukiyo" is the term that applied to many of the different forms of art. One of these forms was woodblock prints, which were known as ukiyo-e. These are prints on paper that are created using woodblocks. Ukiyo-e started in the early seventeenth century. These prints represented the theme of living in the present by portraying everyday life. They were distinguished by their very close vantage points that make the viewer feel as if they are a part of the scene.
The earliest prints that were created were done using monochromatic colors. This was primarily because the process for creating prints required a different woodblock for each color used. As artists started getting more familiar with this style of print they gradually started using vibrant colors. During the Edo period Ukiyo-e continued to grow throughout Japan and became popular worldwide.