Nagasaki

Refers to the work of a school of painters active in Nagasaki from the 17th century through the 19th century. Nagasaki was the only port open to foreigners during the Edo period (1600-1868), and consequently Nagasaki artists painted foreign subjects such as Dutch and Chinese residents of the city, often borrowng European or Chinese stylistic innovations. The style is evident in four main types: woodblock prints; official portraits painted by government artists; Chinese-inspired bird and flower paintings; and individualist work that often employed Western techinques of shading and perspective.