ukiyo-eEnglishOxford New American Dictionaryukiyo-e /ˌo͞okēyō ˈyā, ˌukijoʊ ˈjeɪ / ▸ noun a school of Japanese art depicting subjects from everyday life, dominant in the 17th–19th centuries. – ORIGIN Japanese, from ukiyo ‘fleeting world’ + e ‘picture’.