Engaging Vision #4 is closely tied to Engaging Act #4. It is, in effect, a visual companion for the reading required for Engaging Act #4.

This Trip to Edo is brought to you courtesy of an excellent outside website which has reproductions of Edo-period ukiyo-e organized thematically for easy navigation, the Nagoya TV Server Ukiyo-e Museum Edo Trip. Read their Information page and then enter the museum to examine the prints on Edo themes.

Also: This guide to Edo Japan is terrific, although the interface takes some getting used to. Please check it out as well; it will provide more info and inspiration to you: http://www.us-japan.org/edomatsu/

Use the themes in the Edo Trip Ukiyo-e Gallery to narrow in on certain types of characters that you might include in your Engaging Act #4 scene. You needn't view all of the themes, but look at at least 3 or 4 sets (about 20 prints total).

Take advantage of the visual nature of this material for your Engaging Act #4. That is, use it as a reference for your own description and as inspiration for scenes and personalities.

Woodblock print design, manufacture, and distribution is an intricate process involving artists, block carvers, printers, and publishers. Many of the prints you will see were designed by masters of the medium, Hokusai and Hiroshige, whose work appears in Japanese Inn.

Note what appears distinctive or intriguing or puzzling to you in the prints compared to other art you are familiar with and compared among the prints of different artists. You will have occasion to relate your views in some form in class.

The Ukiyo-e Museum Edo Trip can be accessed by clicking on its name above or on its button in the column on the left. The second button, "Cyber-e," is an optional link to an extensive list of ukiyo-e on the Web for those who wish to adventure further into the Floating World of Cyberspace. . . .