43 Japanese Woodblock Prints Ukiyo E Trivia Questions with Answers
43 public questions with answers, drawn from the well. How many can you answer?
Explore Japanese woodblock prints, especially ukiyo-e, through questions about artists, publishers, formats, genres, and censorship. This trivia hub covers the world of kabuki actors, courtesans, landscapes, and famous print series, including the ōkubi-e portrait format and Hokusai’s Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji.
Expect questions that connect visual details with the history of printmaking. You may need to identify the publisher behind Sharaku’s prints, recognize the large ōban print size, or know which artist founded the Utagawa school. It suits art-history classrooms, museum study groups, themed game nights, and pub quizzes with a culture or Japan round.
Which artist is credited with producing the first ōkubi-e?
Answer
Katsukawa Shunkō I
Which publisher was the sole publisher of Sharaku's prints?
Answer
Tsutaya Jūzaburō
Which artist founded the Utagawa school of ukiyo-e?
Answer
Utagawa Toyoharu
Which artist made Fine Wind, Clear Morning, the print also called Red Fuji?
Answer
Katsushika Hokusai
What term names ukiyo-e prints of foreigners and scenes in Yokohama?
Answer
Yokohama-e
What ukiyo-e genre depicts warriors and samurai?
Answer
Musha-e
What European pigment helped popularize blue aizuri-e prints in the 1820s?
Answer
Prussian blue
Ukiyo-e flourished mainly during which period of Japanese history?
Answer
Edo period
Which ukiyo-e artist used the seal 'Gakyō Rōjin Manji' (Old Man Mad About Art)?
Answer
Katsushika Hokusai
Which ukiyo-e artist was arrested in 1804 for depicting the shogun's concubines?
Answer
Kitagawa Utamaro
Which ukiyo-e artist is known for the series 'The Sixty-nine Stations of the Kiso Kaidō'?
Answer
Utagawa Hiroshige
Which Dutch painter was heavily influenced by ukiyo-e prints?
Answer
Vincent van Gogh
Which ukiyo-e artist is considered the last great master of the tradition?
Answer
Tsukioka Yoshitoshi
What was the name of the publisher of Hokusai's 'The Great Wave off Kanagawa'?
Answer
Nishimuraya Yohachi
Which ukiyo-e artist is known for his 'Manga' sketchbooks?
Answer
Katsushika Hokusai
Which ukiyo-e artist was a master of bijin-ga (beautiful women)?
Answer
Kitagawa Utamaro
What is the Japanese term for a single-color woodblock print?
Answer
Sumizuri-e
What type of wood was traditionally used for ukiyo-e woodblocks?
Answer
Cherry wood
What is the name of the earliest known ukiyo-e artist?
Answer
Hishikawa Moronobu
In 2023, which Hokusai print sold for a record $2.76 million at Christie's?
Answer
Under the Wave off Kanagawa
Which ukiyo-e series by Hiroshige features 118 prints?
Answer
One Hundred Famous Views of Edo
In what city did ukiyo-e originate?
Answer
Edo
What is a 'bijin-ga'?
Answer
Pictures of beautiful women
What genre of ukiyo-e depicts kabuki actors?
Answer
Yakusha-e
What does 'ukiyo' literally mean?
Answer
Floating world
Which ukiyo-e artist is famous for 'The Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō'?
Answer
Utagawa Hiroshige
What material were ukiyo-e prints made from?
Answer
Wood
Which artist created the series 'Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji'?
Answer
Katsushika Hokusai
Which famous Hokusai print features a giant wave and Mount Fuji?
Answer
The Great Wave off Kanagawa
Japanese Woodblock Prints Ukiyo E trivia — quick answers
What are good Japanese woodblock print trivia questions?
Good questions cover major artists such as Hokusai, Hiroshige, Utamaro, and Sharaku; print formats such as ōban and ōkubi-e; genres including yakusha-e and surimono; and the roles of publishers, censors, and shogunate authorities. Questions about famous series and the Utagawa school also make strong quiz material.
How hard is Japanese woodblock print trivia?
It ranges from accessible to specialist. Beginners may recognize Hokusai’s Mount Fuji prints or the term ukiyo-e, while harder questions involve censorship dates, Japanese print formats, publisher histories, and distinctions between portrait genres. A mixed quiz can work well for both general audiences and art-history students.
What does ukiyo-e mean?
Ukiyo-e is commonly translated as “pictures of the floating world.” It refers to a major Japanese art tradition that flourished from the seventeenth through nineteenth centuries, especially in the form of polychrome woodblock prints. Its subjects often included actors, courtesans, landscapes, beautiful women, and scenes of urban entertainment.
What is an ōkubi-e print?
An ōkubi-e is a close-up ukiyo-e portrait showing the head and upper torso, rather than the full figure. Artists used the format to emphasize facial expression, costume, hairstyle, and dramatic presence. It became especially important for portraits of kabuki actors and other popular entertainers.
What are Hokusai’s Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji?
Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji is a landscape print series by Katsushika Hokusai. Despite its title, the original publication eventually included more than thirty-six designs. The series is known for showing Mount Fuji from different viewpoints and settings, including the famous print commonly called The Great Wave off Kanagawa.