Super Ukiyo-e: The Edo Code

In the Edo era, ukiyo-e prints served a function much like that of today's tabloid newspapers and weekly magazines: artists took their cues from celebrity gossip, crime and urban trends, informing their fellow citizens through the dissemination of often vividly coloured pictures. Simultaneously, many ukiyo-e prints contained 'secrets' – satirical and cultural messages intended to convey details otherwise suppressed by the shogunate's censors. Using digitised versions of ukiyo-e from the famed Spaulding Collection at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and other renowned galleries, this immersive exhibition aims to guide visitors behind the scenes of daily life in Edo and unveil the untold stories of famous prints. Enlarged, animated and projected onto surfaces at a specially constructed venue in Kayabacho, these ukiyo-e will take you on a journey through Edo-era fashion and kabuki, onto dark streets and face to face with some rather suspicious characters.