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In both Edo and Kamigata, images were almost exclusively in monochrome black, sometimes with one or two colors used sparingly, primarily oranges and greens. Sometimes sheets would be hand-colored.
In both Edo and Kamigata, images were almost exclusively in monochrome black, sometimes with one or two colors used sparingly, primarily oranges and greens. Sometimes sheets would be hand-colored.
It was not until around 1665, however, that the term "''ukiyo''", written using the characters 浮世 ("floating world"), would appear. [[Asai Ryoi|Asai Ryôi]]'s ''[[Ukiyo monogatari]]'', published around that time, is generally believed to be the earliest use of the word in that way<ref>de Sabato Swinton, Elizabeth. The Women of the Pleasure Quarter. New York: Hudson Hills Press, 1996. p27.</ref>. Previously, ''ukiyo'' had been a Buddhist term, written as 憂世 ("world of grief/melancholy") and referring to the Buddhist perception of the material realm as a world of suffering. Buddhism advocated suppressing material desires, and other physical desires, to devote oneself to the quest for spiritual enlightenment; the "floating world" attitude, however, was very nearly the opposite, advocating devotion to appreciation of the fleeting beauty of life. Though somewhat hedonistic, Asai's oft-quoted definitions of the floating world advocate not raucous pursuits of sexual, culinary and other physical pleasures, but the appreciation of the beauty of cherry blossoms, autumn leaves, the moon, and other things in the world of everyday life.
==Early 18th century==
==Early 18th century==