What is "japonism"

Japonism \Jap"o*nism\, n. [F. japonisme, fr. Japon Japan.] A quality, idiom, or peculiarity characteristic of the Japanese or their products, esp. in art.

Japonism (from the French Japonisme, first used in 1872) is the influence of Japanese art, fashion and aesthetics on Western culture. The term is used particularly to refer to Japanese influence on European art, especially in impressionism. In France the term Japonisme refers to a specific French style which mainly found expression in the fine arts from 1864, while in England it initially influenced the decorative arts, with the first documented pieces of furniture in the Anglo-Japanese style completed in 1862, even if the term Anglo-Japanese was used as early as 1851.

From the 1860s, ukiyo-e, Japanese wood-block prints, became a source of inspiration for many European impressionist painters in France and elsewhere, and eventually for Art Nouveau and Cubism. Artists were especially affected by the lack of perspective and shadow, the flat areas of strong color, and the compositional freedom gained by placing the subject off-centre, mostly with a low diagonal axis to the background.

Japonism is the fourteenth studio album of the Japanese idol group Arashi. The album was released on October 21, 2015 under their record label J Storm in three editions: a first press/limited edition, a Yoitoko limited edition, and a regular edition. The first press edition comes with an 84-page photo lyrics booklet and bonus DVD with the music video and making-of for the album's lead track, "Kokoro no Sora". The Yoitoko limited edition comes with a 32-page lyrics booklet, and the regular edition comes with a 36-page lyrics booklet. The album sold over 820,000 copies in its first week and topped the Oricon charts for two consecutive weeks. With more than 1,210,000 copies sold, the album was certified for Million by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ). On December 23, 2015, Oricon ranked "Japonism" as the best-selling album of 2015 in Japan. On February 27, 2016, "Japonism" was awarded Album of the Year in the 2016 Japan Gold Disc Awards.