Ukiyo-e perspective street scene outside Edo theaters on opening night (Utagawa Toyoharu, ca. 1780) Image: Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Open Access.
Ukiyo-e online course
We’ve just opened the course overview and waitlist for our new Ukiyo-e online course, a calm, beginner-friendly way to read Edo prints and see Japanese culture more clearly. If you’ve ever felt lost in front of famous woodblock prints, this course is designed to give you a gentle, curator-style way to understand what is happening in each scene.
- Course: Seeing Japan Through Ukiyo-e – Edo Pop Culture 101
- Format: Self-paced online course (video lessons, reading PDFs, simple reflection exercises)
- Status: Launching soon – course overview and waitlist now open
About the new Ukiyo-e online course
Our new Ukiyo-e online course, Seeing Japan Through Ukiyo-e – Edo Pop Culture 101, focuses on helping you read prints calmly and clearly, without heavy art-history jargon. Through four short modules, you’ll learn what Ukiyo-e is, how prints were made, how Edo’s “floating world” worked, and how to notice stories hidden in composition, gestures, fashion, and seasonal clues.
The main information page is titled “Happy Online Course Overview: What You Will Know About Ukiyo-e” and serves as the public overview and waitlist page for this course. From there you can see the module outline, pricing, and member discounts before you decide whether to join.
Waitlist bonuses & how it works
Before enrollment opens, we’re offering a small bonus bundle for people who join the waitlist on the course overview page. When you add your email and confirm your subscription, you’ll receive:
- A one-page PDF guide, “Ukiyo-e – 5 Things to Notice in 30 Seconds”, to help you start seeing prints more clearly right away.
- Access details for a short preview lesson that walks you through a simple three-step method for reading a print in this Ukiyo-e online course.
- A launch alert the moment registration opens, including information on member-only discounts.
The waitlist signup form is available on the Happy Online Course Overview: What You Will Know About Ukiyo-e page. Once you confirm your email, follow-up messages will guide you to the preview materials.
Who this Ukiyo-e online course is for
This course is made for curious Japan lovers who want to move beyond “That print looks cool” and into “I can actually explain what’s going on here.” It’s beginner-friendly, so you don’t need prior art knowledge—just an interest in Edo, Japanese culture, or thoughtful museum visits.
If you’re already a The Wa Story member, remember that Standard and Premium plans include automatic discounts on all paid online courses. You can find details on the membership page and decide whether a plan makes sense for you before the Ukiyo-e online course opens.
We’ll share more details as the launch approaches, but for now the best way to stay updated is to join the waitlist and see whether this style of slow, calm looking feels right for you.