Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} Ukiyo by Mela Ciano Ukiyo by Mela Ciano. Archaeology professor by day, backup shooter by night… On a routine assignment, Ukiyo finds herself dragged into a world of danger and deception when she is forced to pull the trigger and kill a man. Torn between the agency that funds her research and a man she knows nothing about, she has to choose sides in a secret war that dates back hundreds of years. Guardian, protector, and her own personal demon… Burislav vowed to watch over her, but hiding his cursed birth right ends up being a secret that could cost Ukiyo her life. When he’s forced out of the shadows after more than twenty years, keeping her safe isn’t as easy as he thinks. This book surprised me. Based solely on the blurb, I honestly wasn't sure if I'd enjoy it or not. but I did, I did, I diiiiiddd. I'm such a sucker for books with mysterious-bad-boy characters. Especially books with a strong female lead. And strong Ukiyo is. and hot/myaterious Buri is. I can't say very much without giving anything away, but this book will be worth your time. It's action-packed and full of unique (and very developed) characters. The plot stayed consistent. with some plot twists here and there, which are always much appreciated. The author did a very good job with her foreshadowing. I liked it. I really liked her twist on standard fantastical creatures. very, very creative views of them.Totally changes the typical Twilight view of things. The biggest thing for me when reading a book has to be the descriptive text. Without it, readers are seeing nothing but darkness. I didn't see a spot of darkness, or even shade, in Ukiyo. The way the author describes feelings and appearances continually amazed me. I felt like I was THERE, like I was breathing in the characters and their hopes and fears. I felt like I could hear the rustle of the leaves, feel the wind brushing past; I was THERE, guys! Seriously, it was astonishing. Now, for the question that must always be asked: Will you read the next book?? Heck yeah! I will FOR SURE read the next book! Sadly, unless it's sent in via review request, I won't be able to get to it pretty much until next year haha. Anyway, the links, and the QOTR (question of the review) will be below. I hope to see you at our TWO hundredth post! I hope to get to know some of you! Keep your noses in the pages! I'll blog you lovelies later!! Ukiyo by Mela Ciano. Archaeology professor by day, backup shooter by night… On a routine assignment, Ukiyo finds herself dragged into a world of danger and deception when she is forced to pull the trigger and kill a man. Torn between the agency that funds her research and a man she knows nothing about, she has to choose sides in a secret war that dates back hundreds of years. Guardian, protector, and her own personal demon… Burislav vowed to watch over her, but hiding his cursed birth right ends up being a secret that could cost Ukiyo her life. When he’s forced out of the shadows after more than twenty years, keeping her safe isn’t as easy as he thinks. An amazing read from a very talented author! Mela Ciano's Ukiyo paints a whole new face to the paranormal genre. Dark, dangerous and vividly told, Ukiyo is plunges us into a world where trust is a commodity to use sparingly and greed and betrayal are powerful weapons. Secret lives, secret wars, secret protectors, one woman will find herself drawn into a world of death with the only sure thing being the sworn protection of her own personal demon. Will they find more than duty between them? A rapid-fire pace and strong characters will take deep into a world both familiar and new to the senses. Mela Ciano has a gift with words and she uses them to create atmosphere, action and three-dimensional characters that leap from each page. Pay attention, this is a ride to enjoy from the safety of your favorite chair and you won’t want to miss one minute detail. For me, the wait is on for book two and beyond. I want to thank Mela Ciano for this ARC edition of Ukiyo in exchange for my honest review. WHAT IS UKIYO-E PROJECT. The words ukiyo and e mean “now” and “image” respectively - so the term ukiyo-e literally means “image depicting the present”. -period ukiyo-e originally portrayed subjects such as fashionable women, popular actors, and famous locations of its time. UKIYO-E PROJECT stays true to the philosophy of "ukiyo-e" and portrays iconic figures and landscapes of TODAY through traditional woodblock prints. UKIYO-E PROJECT ADVISER.

？〜What is ukiyo-e〜！ Ukiyo-e are Japanese traditional woodblock prints, that developed dramatically since the inception of nishiki-e, or “multi-coloured woodblock prints” in the 18th century. It is a craftsmanship that is unique to Japan. Lest we forget the artisans who play a key role in creating ukiyo-e: the illustrator, the woodcarver, and the printer. A brilliant ukiyo-e is born only when they work together at the peak of their craftsmanship. UKIYO-E PROJECT links this tradition from past to present, and onto the future. Ukiyo-e has always depicted the affairs of its time, and has been a mirror of its ages - although the scenes depicted in historical ukiyo-e may seem outdated today, masters have always illustrated themes and subjects that were contemporary to their times. Shigeru Shindo, Executive Director of the International Ukiyo-e Society. Ukiyo-e researcher, connoisseur, and collector Executive Director of the International Ukiyo-e Society Graduate of Tokyo University of Science (Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Set Theory major) Director of the Kabuki-za calendar Recipient of the 24th Uchiyama Award (Japan Ukiyo-e Association/2005/ukiyo-e research) Currently conducting an empirical study of ukiyo-e based on his research on ukiyo-e, rakugo, kabuki, and Japanese mathematics. Past Exhibitions.

・2014 150th Anniversary of Utagawa Kunisada’s death , Ota Memorial Museum of Art, Tokyo, Japan.

・2013 Ukiyo-e Floating World , Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum, Tokyo, Japan.

・2012 Yoshu Chikanobu Exhibition , Hiraki Ukiyo-e Museum, Kanagawa, Japan.

・2009 Yokohama Ukiyo-e Exhibition for the 150th Anniversary of Yokosuka Port Opening, Yokohama Takashimaya Department Store, Kanagawa, Japan.

・2004 Kunishige Exhibition , Tokyo Station Gallery, Tokyo, Japan.

・2004 4 Year Anniversary Ukiyo-e Exhibition , Nakagawa-machi Bato Hiroshige Museum of Art, Tochigi, Japan.

・2001 Rakugo in Ukiyo-e , Tobacco & Salt Museum, Tokyo, Japan.

・1996 Kabuki in Ukiyo-e , Tobacco & Salt Museum, Tokyo, Japan.

・1995 Theatrical Play Toys , Tobacco & Salt Museum, Tokyo, Japan; Osaka City Museum, Osaka, Japan.

・1989 Actor Portrait Prints Exhibition , Liquor Museum, Tokyo, Japan. UKIYO-E PROJECT FOUNDER/ ARTISTIC DIRECTOR. A mirror of its ages, ukiyo-e possesses many stories within. Their bold compositions let our imaginations roam free, but once we understand the references, the mysteries start to unfold. As a metal-carver myself, the creation process of ukiyo-e fascinates me: talking to the artisans, not only do I relate to their craftsmanship, but am also incredibly impressed by the rich expressions and vast possibilities of their skills. There are many Japanese qualities condensed into ukiyo-e: meticulous craftsmanship, stone-set drive, commitment, harmonious teamwork. Through this project, I would be happy to see people from around the world witness and experience these Japanese qualities through ukiyo-e. I hope to keep producing contemporary ukiyo-e that depict our current times, and that will continue to be appreciated centuries from now. Ukiyo-e. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Ukiyo-e , (Japanese: “pictures of the floating world”) one of the most important genres of art of the Tokugawa period (1603–1867) in Japan. The style is a mixture of the realistic narrative of the emaki (“picture scrolls”) produced in the Kamakura period and the mature decorative style of the Momoyama and Tokugawa periods. The ukiyo-e style also has about it something of both native and foreign realism. Screen paintings were the first works to be done in the style. These depicted aspects of the entertainment quarters (euphemistically called the “floating world”) of Edo (modern Tokyo) and other urban centres. Common subjects included famous courtesans and prostitutes, kabuki actors and well-known scenes from kabuki plays, and erotica. More important than screen painting, however, were wood-block prints, ukiyo-e artists being the first to exploit that medium. A new interest in the urban everyday world and its market motivated the swift development of ukiyo-e prints designed for mass consumption. is generally accredited as the first master of ukiyo-e. The transition from single- to two-colour prints was made by Okumura Masanobu. In 1765 polychrome prints using numerous blocks were introduced by . The essence of the ukiyo-e style was embodied in the works of Utamaro, , and Hiroshige. This article was most recently revised and updated by Alison Eldridge, Digital Content Manager. The Floating World of Ukiyo-E Early Masters. The earliest Ukiyo-e prints date from about 1600. These early works were monochromatic, with the design laid out in bold black lines. Beginning in the seventeenth century, artists began to add color by hand, including red, blue, yellow, and orange. They also began to experiment with light- catching textures. With the advent of multicolor printing around the mid-eighteenth century, single prints were built up in layers of aligned blocks, each carrying different colors and pieces of design. Erotic works and images of actors and beautiful women were common subjects in early Ukiyo- e. Also popular were themes from Japanese myth, legend, literature, and history. Ukiyo-e prints by early masters working from about 1600 to 1740 were issued in limited numbers and are extremely rare today. The Library of Congress collection contains many examples of these so-called "primitives" by early Ukiyo-e masters of the seventeenth century. Frontispiece to a Set of Erotic Prints. Known from examples in the Art Institute of Chicago, the Hirakawa Museum of Art in Yokohama, and many other collections, this famous print is the frontispiece of a set of twelve erotic prints. This print bears the signature and seal of Torii Kiyonobu I (ca. 1664-1729). Kiyonobu was the founder of the of artists, a defining force in the development of Ukiyo-e during the first half of the eighteenth century. Torii Kiyonobu I. Courtesan painting a screen, ca. 1711. Published by Takeda Chôemon of Dobôchô, Yokohama. Woodblock print, ôban, 15 in. x 10 in. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress (1). (LC-USZC4-8406) Bookmark this item: //www.loc.gov/exhibits/ukiyo-e/early.html#obj1. Kume the Immortal Spies on a Beauty. This sumizuri-e, or monochrome print, is unsigned but the style resembles that of the early master Hishikawa Moronobu (d. 1694) and his school. The young woman doing laundry by the river displays the broad cheeks and long jaw associated with Moronobu, and the print as a whole exhibits the combination of thin and thick wavy calligraphic lines typical of Moronobu. The subject of the print is Kume the Immortal, a renowned recluse who mastered the power to travel through the air at will. The sight of a young woman baring her legs while washing clothes caused Kume to lose his concentration and fall from the sky. Anonymous. Kume spies on a girl, ca. 1688-1704. Monochrome woodblock print, 10 1/2 in. x 15 1/8 in. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress (2). (LC-USZC4-8536) Bookmark this item: //www.loc.gov/exhibits/ukiyo-e/early.html#obj2. Early Ukiyo-e by an Anonymous Artist. Black-and-white compositions like this one are known as sumizuri-e because they were rubbed (suri) in ink (sumi) only. This image depicts a woman identified as Echizen writing poetry while the other woman, Kotanko, grooms the hair of a man seated before a mirror. These figures are identical in pose to figures from an earlier work, Courtesans in Opposing Mirrors , signed by Okumura Gempachi Masanobu (ca. 1686-1764). Masanobu's work was based on an image created by Torii Kiyonobu I (ca. 1664-1729), dated 1700. Anonymous. Hairdressing, early eighteenth century. Woodblock print, ôban, 15 in. x 10 in. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress (3). (LC-USZC4-8407) Bookmark this item: //www.loc.gov/exhibits/ukiyo-e/early.html#obj3. Rare Book Illustration. In this narrative, the itinerant monk Shintoku gives the power of speech to a mute girl. On the right leaf, the girl who is seated at center raises her hand and asks, "Papa, have you come back home?" The girl's mother rises up on both knees and declares, "Hallelujah, hallelujah!" The father, dressed in the striped kimono, proclaims, "I'm so glad, my daughter has spoken!" Shintoku, in black clerical attire, explains, "It is due to the grace of the deity at Kasuga." The Library of Congress copy of this literary work is the only one known to exist. Anonymous. Shintoku's Souvenirs from Nara. (Shintoku Nara miyage). Detail 1. Detail 2. Kyôto: Nakajima Matabei, 1713. Woodblock-printed book, 9 1/2 in. x 6 in. Asian Division, Library of Congress (4). (LC-USZC4-8653 [full];LC-USZC4-8654, LC-USZC4-8652 [detail]) Bookmark this item: //www.loc.gov/exhibits/ukiyo-e/early.html#obj4. Ninth-Century Scholar and Deity. This print by Okumura Masanobu (ca. 1686-1764) depicts a nobleman, Sugawara Michizane (845-903), who, according to Japanese legend, became the god Kitano Tenjin. In a deified form, his spirit is said to have flown to China to learn Zen, paying for his lessons with a sprig of flowering plum. Such portraits of Michizane--who became the patron deity of scholarship and learning--developed among fourteenth- and fifteenth-century Japanese ink painters and shrines were built throughout Japan in his honor. Okumura Masanobu. Kitano Tenjin, pre-1764. Woodblock print with hand-coloring, hosoban, 13 in. x 5 5/8 in. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress (5). (LC-USZC4-8529) Bookmark this item: //www.loc.gov/exhibits/ukiyo-e/early.html#obj5. Shôki: The Chinese Demon Queller. This print by Okumura Masanobu (ca. 1686-1764) portrays Shôki, and is one of a number of versions depicting the famous Chinese queller of demons in a walking pose. The artistic style of this print is reminiscent of earlypainting techniques, as the block-printed lines vary in thickness like the calligraphic brush strokes of ink painters. Okumura Masanobu. Shôki Striding , pre-1764. Woodblock print with hand-coloring, hashira-e , 28 1/4 in. x 4 3/4 in. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress (6). (LC-USZC4-8532) Bookmark this item: //www.loc.gov/exhibits/ukiyo-e/early.html#obj6. Shôki with Beauty. This early hand-colored print by Nishimura Shigenobu (fl. 1730s-1740s) is a typical example of parody. Shôki, the fierce demon queller, has his hand around the shoulder of a young woman who has, apparently, tamed him. These prints bear the red collector/dealer seals of Wakai Kanesaburô (1834-1908) and Hayashi Tadamasa (1853-1907), who were among the most prolific dealers of Ukiyo-e. Both seals are seen here in the lower left corner--Hayashi's is the small circular seal and Wakai's is oval. Nishimura Shigenobu. Shôki and girl, ca. 1720s. Woodblock print with hand-coloring and lacquer ( urushi ), hosoban , 13 in. x 5 5/8 in. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress (7). (LC-USZC4-8410) Bookmark this item: //www.loc.gov/exhibits/ukiyo-e/early.html#obj7. Kabuki Actors: Sôjûrô and Takenojô Actors can often be identified in Ukiyo-e prints by the personal crests on their costumes. For example, in this print by Nishimura Shigenaga (1697- 1756) the kneeling actor wears an orange blossom crest, identifying him as Ichimura Takenojô. Takenojô was the nephew of a proprietor of a prominent kabuki theater in Edo. He eventually gave up acting and became a Buddhist priest. Above him stands Sawamura Sojurô, identified by the "i" crest. Since actor's crests and names were handed down, they are not always a certain means of identification. Nishimura Shigenaga. Sawamura Sôjûrô I and Ichimura Takenojô dancing with a tsuzumi drum, pre-1756. Woodblock print with hand-coloring, lacquer ( urushi ), and powdered metal, hosoban , 13 in. x 5 5/8 in. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress (8). (LC-USZC4-8411) Bookmark this item: //www.loc.gov/exhibits/ukiyo-e/early.html#obj8. Kabuki Actors: Sôjûrô and Tomigorô This print by Okumura Toshinobu (fl. 1717-1750) depicts two actors--Sawamura Sôjûrô I (1685-1756) and Yamatogawa Tomigorô playing the roles of a samurai and his page. Sôjûrô I was the first in a line of nine generations of famed actors bearing the Sôjûrô name. In a technique used by many Ukiyo-e artists, ground metal has been applied to reflect light in selected areas, such as the lamp in the upper left section of the image. Bookmark this item: //www.loc.gov/exhibits/ukiyo-e/early.html#obj9. Stylish Courtesan. This print by Torii Kiyomasu (fl. late 1690s-early 1720s) depicts a woman trampling what are most likely love letters, scattered at her feet. The woman is a courtesan, identified by the fact that her obi sash is tied in front, and probably also by the background willows, which were planted along the banks of the pleasure quarters. The double crests of butterfly and maple leaf on the sleeve of her kimono depict a fad of the late- seventeenth century in which lovers would proclaim their love for one another by overlapping their family crests. Another late-seventeenth-century fad is the long tobacco pipe the woman is holding in her hand, which were smoked by men and women alike. Torii Kiyomasu (fl. late 1690s-early 1720s). Three Pairs of Stylish Wise People: Shohei on the Right (Fûryû kenjin sanpukutsui: migi Shohei ), late seventeenth century. Woodblock print with hand-coloring, one panel from a triptych, hosoban, 13 in. x 5 5/8 in. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress (10). (LC-USZC4-8413) Bookmark this item: //www.loc.gov/exhibits/ukiyo-e/early.html#obj10. Referencing a Classic Pose. The actor portrayed here is from the famous Ichikawa line of actors. The plaque in the background of the print bears the name of the well-known Edo temple Sensôji in Asakusa. The print, presumably by Torii Kiyomasu II (fl. 1720s-early 1760s), shows Ichikawa Ebizô on stage, holding a large gun. The actor's stance is reminiscent of that of the "Thunder Gods" seen in Yamato-e-- a courtly, classical style of painting of the seventeenth-century. Torii Kiyomasu II. Ichikawa Ebizô on Stage (Ichikawa Ebizô aitsutome môshi sôrô) , pre-1765. Woodblock print with hand-coloring, hosoban, 13 in. x 5 5/8 in. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress (11). (LC-USZC4-8528) Bookmark this item: //www.loc.gov/exhibits/ukiyo-e/early.html#obj11. Heightened Realism. Katsukawa Shunkô (1743-1812) and his teacher Katsukawa Shunshô (1726-1793) are said to have transformed the caricature-like prints of actors of the early Torii masters into true portraits. This actor, seen in a warrior-like pose--reminiscent of the aragoto (rough) style of Edo kabuki actors--wears the multiple box (nested rice measures) crest of the Ichikawa family. This print shows the use of printed color in a relatively simple palette, typical of relatively early nishiki-e , or brocade, prints. Katsukawa Shunkô. Actor with sword, pre-1788. Color woodblock print, hosoban, 13 in. x 5 5/8 in. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress (12). (LC-USZC4-8405) Bookmark this item: //www.loc.gov/exhibits/ukiyo-e/early.html#obj12. A Kanô School Painting Manual. This work was compiled by the important Kanô school artist, Ôoka Shunboku (1680-1763). Shunboku, who worked in the Kamigata (Kyoto- Osaka) region, was one of the first artists to expand painting techniques to a broader audience through publishing monochromatic block-printed books, painting manuals, and other handbooks. This image, a standard portrait of the Zen Buddist monk, Ikkyû, includes directions for which colors to apply. The image of crab among the reeds likewise comes with instructions for drawing the image, in a "natural" stroke order. Ôoka Shunboku, Graceful Art, Sharp Brush ( Gahin hippô ); also known by the title, Notable Chinese and Japanese Paintings: An Illustrated Handbook ( Wakan meihitsu: Ehon tekagami ). Image 1. Image 2. Osaka: Terada Yoemon, et al., 1720. Woodblock-printed book, 9 1/2 in. x 6 1/2 in. Vol. 3. Asian Division, Library of Congress (103)