The term ukiyo was originally a Buddhist reference to the present mundane world as opposed to the future life.  During the late sixteenth century, when the ambitious son of a farmer became Toyotomi Hideyoshi, ruler of the entire country, the meaning of the word changed radically.  The world in which a man could gain wealth and power just by utilizing his talents as opposed to who his forebearers were came to be considered a heaven rather than the hell of previous ages.  In this way ukiyo came to mean "paradise" or "floating world."
     The term e means "picture."
     What became known as the Ukiyo-e school of art had appeared in the early sixteenth century and aimed at depicting the social life of the day, partic