Which genre of Japanese art was popular in the 19th-century Edo period, featuring bold, flat colors and themes of wealthy merchant life?

• A. Ukiyo-e Woodblock Prints
• B. Baroque Art
• C. Futurism
• D. Mayan Art

Answer: (A)

Ukiyo-e woodblock prints embody this description. In the Edo period, a time of relative peace and economic growth, urban merchants and artisans formed a thriving middle class, and artists created images about the floating world—the lively, stylish, everyday life of cities. The woodblock process produced bold, flat areas of color with clear outlines, giving a graphic, decorative look that was easy to reproduce for a wide audience. Scenes often centered on actors, courtesans, landscapes, and the lives of wealthy townspeople, capturing the tastes and leisure of merchant life. Because prints could be mass-produced, they spread quickly among the growing urban population.

Other choices don’t fit because they come from different contexts: Baroque art is European and known for dramatic light and ornate detail; Futurism is an early 20th-century Italian movement focused on speed and machine-age themes; Mayan art is ancient Mesoamerican, not related to 19th-century Japan.