Ukiyo-e

and the Woodcut Print

by David Maire
The Print:
The Print:
Art form using ink, paper, and a surface;

Images are created by pressing the surface and paper

together, not by painting or drawing;

“Editions”, more multiple prints can be made using the

same surface;

Printing methods include etching, lithography,

screenprinting, and the woodcut.
The Woodcut:
The Woodcut:

The first print making technique;

Involves carving an image onto a block of wood,

which is then used to print onto a sheet of paper.
The History of the Woodcut:

Invented in China around the 7th century AD, but there

no surviving prints exist from this time;

Various uses included:

stamping designs on fabrics and textiles;

printing books and scriptures (often Buddhist).

The Process:
Step 1: cutting the wood printing;

Step 2: inking the block;

Step 3: printing;

Step 4: the finished print.

Step 1:
Step 1:
Step 1:
Step 2:
Step 2:
Step 2:
Step 3:
Step 3:
Step 4:
From China to Japan:

The earliest prints found were scriptures in a

Buddhist temple in Japan;

Japan’s printmaking history is far more extensive

than any other Asian country.
From China to Japan:
Buddhist missionaries from China traveled to
Japan around the 8th century AD;

The Buddhists brought the art of woodcut printing

along with them;

As Buddhism spread, so did the need to print more

iconic Buddhist representations and scriptures.
Example of Buddhist Scriptures:

Woodcut print in Woodcut print in Japanese Woodcut print in

Chinese on paper, on paper, found in Japan, Chinese on paper,
found in Japan, dating dating from 764-770. The found in Japan,
from 1383, depicting scripts are stored in the dating from 1011-
Sakyamuni, the pagodas above them. 1082, a preserved
Historical Buddha sutra in scroll.
seated preaching.
Early Japanese Printing:
By the 12th century, Japanese prints evolved from simple
Buddhist scripts to representing people, customs and
everyday life;

Japanese images were much more colorful, but black ink

was the only color used for printing;

Along with paper, prints were made on fans, screens and

paper doors;

Like Chinese prints, few of these pieces still exist.

Examples of Prints:

Print illustrating
Print depicting a a theatrical scene Print of a woman
samurai warrior picking cherry
blossoms
Examples of Screens:

Screen showing a city scene (above)

Screen depicting fan dance (below)
New Times:
New Times:
 The turn of the 17th century after the warring states period
during the Tokugawa Era;

 Japan became more stable and prosperous leading to:

Education being more widely spread;

Tradesmen, artisans and merchants emerging.

Result:

There was a new, large and fast growing class of intelligent,

pleasure-loving people;

A serge of varied and voluminous literature came into being;

 Woodcut medium was used to print all these publications, and,

to illustrate them, the first Ukiyo-e woodcuts emerged.
Etymology of Ukiyo:
Ukiyo was a Buddhist term referring to the mundane world,
and to the sorrowfulness of nature and existence that we must
escape to attain enlightenment and eternal life;

In Buddhistic terms, uki meant ‘sorrow’ and yo meant ‘world’;

As Japan changed in the 17th century, the diction of uki changed
to ‘floating’;

Ukiyo was understood as “the Floating World”, a sort of

paradise referring to the new era in which a man could become
successful and wealthy by utilizing his talents and ambitions.
 ‘living only for the moment, turning our full attention to
the pleasures of the moon, the snow, the cherry-blossoms
and the maple-leaves, singing songs, drinking wine and
diverting ourselves just in floating, floating, caring not a
while for the pauperism staring us in the face, refusing
to be disheartened, like a gourd floating along with the
river current: this is what we call ukiyo…’

~ca. 1600-1680
Etymology of Ukiyo-e:

The prefix e, meaning ‘picture’ was added to refer to certain

woodcut print images;

Ukiyo-e therefore means “Pictures of the Floating World” –

pictures illustrating pleasure – only emerging around the second
half of the 17th century.
New Uses:
Was only used for printing images instead of books and scripts;

The images are much more expressive, and always picture

brothels, the theatre and other entertaining scenes from what was
called the gay quarters (or pleasure quarters);

Pieces were being commissioned for the first time, and by the
19th century these were mostly by Westerners fascinated with
everything Japanese (a trend known as Japonisme).
And then there was color:
Up until the 19th century, colors were obtained from vegetables,
and mixed with rice to give the paint consistency;
Colors were no longer hand painted, but printed on gradually
with a different block for a different color (some prints had 20-30
blocks);
The large number of blocks that are used to print different
colors allow for a wide range of tints and hues;
Images prior to Japanese Westernization have faded due to the
poor preserving qualities of the vegetable paint, which changes
hues easily with exposure to light.
New Creation System:
Already before the ukiyo-e style, woodcut printing became an
industry where it took more than 1 Buddhist to do all the steps;
The many workers of a ukiyo-e print include:
An artist – provides the design and color scheme;
A carver, or engraver – carves the image into the
woodblocks;
A printer – proofs the image, mixes paints, and transfers
each woodblock’s color onto one page;
A publisher- manages sales and distribution.
Examples of Ukiyo-e:

Crow and Heron, or

Young Lovers
Walking Together
under an Umbrella in
a Snowstorm, ca.
1769
Station of Otsu: From the Fifty-three Stations of Suzuki Harunobu
the Tokaido (The "Reisho Tokaido"), Edo period (Japanese, 1725–
(1615–1868), ca. 1848–49 1770)
Ando Hiroshige (Japanese, 1797–1858)

Kabuki Actor,
Edo period
(1615–1868), ca.
1823
Utagawa
Kuniyasu
A Group of Children Playing under the Plum (Japanese, 1794–
Blossoms in the Snow, 1887 1832)
Hashimoto Chikanobu (Japanese, 1838–1912)
Ukyio-e Today:

Ukiyo-e images allow scholars to examine the development of

printing techniques, and to follow changes in fashion, dress and
manner through the years;

Ukiyo-e and the woodcut print still exist today, yet artists often
choose to incorporate other artistic techniques into the printing
process, which is now very different from what it once was.
Modern Day, Traditional
Woodcut Printing Workshop
in Japan:
Modern Day Japanese Woodblock Artisans Hard at Work
(only the electric lights are new).
A carver working on a woodblock.
A printer first inking, then rubbing, then with the finished sheet.
The first woodblock juxtaposed with the final, finished print.
(artist Hiroshige's "Giant Lantern at Asakusa“)
Modern Day, Traditional Woodcut
Printing Process:

The Making of Paul Binnie’s "Red Fuji"

Printing of the sky area in blue and gray. The lifting of the print
and the finished result.
Printing the red mountain side.
Rubbing the paper over the woodblock. (Left)
Lifting the print off the woodblock. (Middle)
The finished print. (Right)
Selection of three blocks used to print different colors. (Left)
Sample pieces of paper showing tones and shading. (Right)
Dozens of “Red Fuji“ prints laid out to dry between printings.
The Final Result:
END
Bibliography:
Hiller, J., The Japanese Print: A New Approach, London and Southampton; The Camelot Press Ltd, 1960
Hiller, J., Japanese Colour Prints, London; Phidon Press Limited, 1975
Hiller, J., Japanese Masters if the Colour Print: A Great Heritage of Oriental Art, London; Phidon Press Limited, 1954
Sadao Kikuchi, A Treasury of Japanese Wood Block Prints; Ukiyo-e, New York; Crown Publishers, Inc., 1969
Rebecca Salter, Japanese Popular Prints, Honolulu; University of Hawaii Press, 2006
Mary Tolman and Norman Tolman, Collecting Japanese Prints; Then and Now, Vermont and Tokyo; Charles E. Tuttle Publishing
Co., Inc.,1994
Laurence Binyon and J.J. O’Brien Sexton, Japanese Colour Prints, London; Ernest Benn, Ltd., 1923
Muneshige Narazaki, Masterworks of Ukiyo-e, Tokyo, New York, San Fransisco; Kodansha International LTD., 1981
http://www.chazen.wisc.edu/assets/03_exhibitions_img/Teacher_Materials/Accessable_powerpoint_files/800x600/Educational_mate
rials.html
http://nanashiomi.com/ENGLISH/AFTER_UKIYOE/E_Ukiyo_e.html
http://www.sitkacenter.org/classes/detail.php?id=50
http://www.schoyencollection.com/Pre-Gutenberg.htm
 http://www.saffronmarigold.com/catalog/about_block_printing.php
http://www.moma.org/exhibitions/2001/whatisaprint/flash.html
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/ukiy/hd_ukiy.htm
http://www.all-art.org/history330-5.html
http://www.ukiyoe-reproductions.com/html/history.html
http://www.ukiyoe-gallery.com/uchida.htm
http://www.ukiyoe-gallery.com/fuji.htm
Questions
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