Abuna-e: Risque pictures; they came into fashion in the early 1720's after a government crackdown on more explicit images, shun-ga. They are the closest analogue in Japanese art to the nudes of Western art, and usually capture the subject in a private moment, partially undressed.
Banzuke: Printed programs for public entertainment events, often for the Kabuki theatre; the earliest form of woodblock-printed material associated with Kabuki. Often produced for the kaomise, when they are known as kaomise-banzuke.
E-goyomi: Literally, "calendar picture"; surimono which gave identity of the long and short months (the Japanese year was divided into months of 29 and 30 days, in a pattern which changed every year) for that year. Since production of calendars was a monopoly of the government, one denied to general publishers, this information was usually woven into the design in some cunning manner.
E-hon: Literally, "picture book"; the general name for illustrated bound works such as albums and illustrated book. Often used as part of the title of such a work.
Fūkei-ga: Images of landscapes.
Kacho-ga, Kacho-e: Images of birds and flowers.
Kuchi-e: Frontispiece illustrations for novels and literary magazines around 1900; many of the leading woodblock artists of the Meiji era produced them. The primary subjects are bijin, which kuchi-e displayed in the idealized depiction that was usual throughout most of the the history of ukiyo-e, although by then, influenced by western art, a more realistic style was also appearing.
Meisho-e: Meisho (literally, "place with a name") are famous locations, often with literary and historical connections, which sometimes led to standardized poetic connotations; seasonal associations were often also present. Hence meisho-e, prints of famous places.
Mitate-e: Mitate (literally, "likened") are contemporary recreations of well-known scenes from history or myth, often with a parody in mind; hence mitate-e, prints in this mode.
Musha-e: Originally, paintings of historically important warriors; also includes warrior prints.
Okubi-e: Literally, "large head picture"; a bust portrait showing just the head and shoulders of the subject.
Sansui: Landscape (literally "mountains and waters"); hence sansui-ga, landscape images.
Shin Hanga: Literally, "new prints"; the resurgent Japanese woodblock print movement beginning in the Taisho period, which joined traditional Japanese woodblock subjects and printing techniques, together with Western drawing techniques, to revitalize the traditional woodblock print.
Shini-e: Prints commemorating the death (Literally, "death pictures") of some important person from the 'Floating World'. Most depicted Kabuki actors, but some prints also commemorated woodblock artists, and on occasion musicians. The deceased is usually portrayed in light-blue robes (associated with death), and the print usually includes the date of the person's death, their age, their posthumous Buddhist name (kaimyo), and the location of their grave. Some also included the death poem of the deceased, or memorial verses written by friends or associates.
Shun-ga: Erotic images (literally "spring images", a typical euphemism for erotica); another of the classic original woodblock forms.
Sosaku Hanga: Literally, "creative prints"; a Japanese woodblock print movement of the 20th century which utilized Western concepts of art; both in the production, in which the artist was more involved in the production of the prints (often undertaking the entire process on their own), and in the subject matter and presentation, which was that of modern art.
Surimono: Literally, "printed things"; privately issued and distributed prints, mostly produced in small numbers. Most had poetry (usually comissioned by private poetry clubs) or calendars on them, and were often used as invitations, notices, holiday and greeting cards, etc. They were usually very finely printed, with elaborate and unusual printing techniques such as use of powdered metals.
Uki-e: Literally, "floating pictures"; perspective prints, i.e. prints done with the newly introduced Western perspective technique, as opposed to the classical Chinese method of portraying depth and distance.
Ukiyo-e: Literally, "floating world picture", often given as "images of the floating world"; a term originally used to describe actor and courtesan prints depicting life in the Epicurean world of the Edo middle-class (the chonin), the so-called 'Floating World'. Now used to describe woodblock prints in general.
Uta-e: Literally, "poem picture"; a print which depicts the setting of a poem or other verse; the text is usually written above or beside the image. In some cases, e.g. in surimono, the image alludes to the poem by skillfully incorporating pictorialized Japanese characters and allegorical images, to form a kind of visual code for the poem, something which is now very difficult to decipher.
Yakusha-e: Prints of Kabuki actors; one of the first major types of Japanese woodblock prints, and a mainstay of the field down to this day.
