Toward the end of the Edo Period in Japan history an art form known as Ukiyo-e (art of the floating world) was created.

This method of wood block printing and artistic expression would have a lasting influence on European and American Impressionist artists.  Ukiyo-e spread from Japan when its art was represented at the World Exposition in Paris in 1867. Its soon influenced Western art and crafts and many Impressionist artist like Van Gogh, Degas, Lautrec, and Monet.  Internationally renowned Japanese master artists Hiroshigi, Kunisada, Toyokuni, and Kunimas are on display in the exhibit.