uke-e

English

WOTD – 4 November 2023

Etymology

An 1858 uke-e print by Utagawa Yoshifuji, with text stating that at the hour of the horse on the eighth day of the fifth month, people born under the earth and water signs will have good fortune for seven years.

Transliteration of Japanese 有卦絵 (うけえ, ukee), from 有卦 (うけ, uke, “streak of luck”) (有 (う, u, “to have, possess”) + 卦 (け, ke, “divination symbol or sign”)) + 絵 (え, e, “picture”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈuːkeɪˌeɪ/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈukeɪˌeɪ/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Noun

uke-e

1. (art) A kind of ukiyo-e (“Japanese painting or woodblock print showing a scene of everyday life”) depicting an auspicious subject, which was popular in Japan during the late 1800s.
   • 2006, Rebecca Salter, “Leisure, Pleasure, Play”, in Japanese Popular Prints: From Votive Slips to Playing Cards (A Latitude 20 Book), Honolulu, Hi.: University of Hawaiʻi Press, →ISBN, figure 138 caption, page 134:

     This print uses letters as part of the picture but is also an example of an uke-e (lucky print). […] On entering a good luck phase a person would receive gifts such as this print containing seven words beginning with the syllable fu (from fuku = happiness).

Translations

kind of ukiyo-e depicting an auspicious subject

• Finnish: uke-e
• Japanese: 有卦絵 (うけえ, ukee)
• Macedonian: уке-е n (uke-e)

Further reading

• ukiyo-e on Wikipedia.Wikipedia