Ukiyo-e (pronounced uu-kee-yo-eh) or “pictures of the floating world”
is a genre of Japanese woodblock prints and paintings produced by the
culture that bloomed in the urban centres of Edo (modern-day Tokyo),
Osaka and Kyoto during the relatively peaceful Shogunate period
between 1600 and 1867. The kimono prints for this series were originally
woodblock prints created in the 19th century by art publishers who
meticulously reproduced enlargements of small details taken from the
artwork of the greatest artists of the Edo period, inspiring contemporary
garment design trends.