Maan 1822

Editor: This is “Maan,” a woodblock print made with ink in 1822 by Totoya Hokkei, currently at the Rijksmuseum. I'm really drawn to the surreal quality. There’s a figure climbing a long staircase that seems to lead to a palace in the sky, set against a huge moon. What do you see in this piece? Curator: Hokkei offers a window into the cultural fascination with the moon prevalent in 19th-century Japan, specifically during the Edo period. This print speaks to the popular culture and the artistic trends of ukiyo-e, "pictures of the floating world." But beyond the surface beauty, consider the role prints like this played in society. What do you think the rising popularity of landscape ukiyo-e says about the culture of the time? Editor: I suppose that prints allowed wider audiences access to art than just wealthy patrons. Also, a print run can propagate specific values. The palace seems unreachable, though, and that figure looks rather worse for wear. What does that symbolize? Curator: That’s a keen observation. The imposing scale of the celestial architecture, coupled with the aged traveler, hints at the pursuit of enlightenment, a core tenet of Buddhist thought. Woodblock prints allowed artists to insert such social and political narratives in a visually arresting, yet accessible form. Prints like this were affordable art accessible to people across the classes, embedding such imagery of philosophical inquiry deep within the societal consciousness. How might that shift visual understanding and expectation for viewers? Editor: That's really fascinating; I hadn’t considered how democratized art forms like this could shape social values on such a broad scale! It changes my perception entirely. Curator: Precisely. By understanding the socio-political backdrop, we glean insights that resonate far beyond the surface level aesthetics.