Ukiyo-e(浮世絵lit. "pictures of the floating world") (Japanese pronunciation: [ukijo.e] or [ukijoꜜe]) is a genre of Japanese woodblock prints (or woodcuts) and paintings produced between the 17th and the 20th centuries, featuring motifs of landscapes, tales from history, the theatre, and pleasure quarters. It is the main artistic genre of woodblock printing in Japan. The contemporary novelist Asai Ryōi, in his Ukiyo monogatari(浮世物語"Tales of the Floating World", c. 1661), provides some insight into the concept of the floating world: