Ukiyo-e is a classic representation of Japanese Culture. It is a genre of woodblock prints and paintings which flourished in Japanese art from the late 17th to late 19th century. Aimed at the prosperous merchant class in the urbanizing Edo period (1603–1868), its subjects included female beauties; kabuki actors and sumo wrestlers; scenes from history and folktales; travel scenes and landscapes; flora and fauna; and erotica. Well, I have to admit, I never connect this type of art with our humble normal breakfast toast.
Japanese artist and food art designer Manami Sasaki (previous) brought this traditional Japanese culture to her work of toast. Using fruits, vegetables, sauces and spreads, Sasaki urns slices of bread into real short-lived artworks. Manami Sasaki developed her edible creations during the lockdown, seeing it as an opportunity to get up early to prepare her breakfast so as to not be lazy anymore. Since then, she’s passionate about the taste of her toasts, but also about the visual changes that she can observe when she toasts her artworks.
She has created many beautiful toast since then. Yeah, beautiful. Although I am not sure how a beautiful toast tastes like, I just enjoy its visual and I do hope Sasaki does eat them so there is no waste. You can find many creative and colorful toast art on her Instagram, but my favorite series is “Ukiyo-e”.
