Japanese woodblock print is a phenomenon of which there exists no Western equivalent and the art form continues to influence Japanese manga, film, and video games to this day. Discover the four pillars of the woodblock print (beauties, actors, landscapes, and bird-and-flower compositions) alongside depictions of sumo wrestlers, kabuki actors and courtesans. This volume, derived from the original XXL monograph, presents the most exceptional Japanese woodblock prints in their historical context. Ranging from the 17th-century development of decadent ukiyo-e, or "pictures of the floating world," to the decline and later resurgence of prints in the early 20th century, the images collected in this edition make up an unmatched record not only of a unique genre in art history, but also of the shifting mores and cultural development of Japan.