From the end of the Edo period to the Meiji period, such Ukiyoe as Yokohama-e (Yokohama pictures), Kaika-e (enlightenment pictures), Nishikie-shinbun (newspapers) and so on played an important role in introducing Western things as well as Japanese society.
幕末から明治にかけて、横浜絵、開化絵、錦絵新聞など、西洋の事物や日本の世情紹介に浮世絵が大きな役割を果たす。