Lifespan creativity in a non-Western artistic tradition: a study of Japanese ukiyo-e printmakers

Western cultures' conceptions about creativity emphasize originality and final products; Eastern cultures, skill and process. Does this cultural difference impact how creativity unfolds over the lifespan? To examine this, we investigated Japanese "ukiyo-e" printmaking (c. 1670-1865). Almost 2,000 illustrations of datable prints by 44 artists were found in 36 art books. Career landmarks (earliest, most frequent, and latest illustrated print) and eminence ratings were estimated for each artist. Results are largely consistent with prior research on Western samples: artists' career peaks vary greatly, averaging around age 40, and the most prolific artists usually (but not always) created the most popular prints. However, ukiyo-e artists show a more positive relation between career peak and eminence than Western artists, peak slightly later than their French (but not American) counterparts, and older artists created the most famous prints, compared to the West. Trans-historically, early-peaking ukiyo-e artists are concentrated between 1780 and 1800.