History of Japanese wood prints

The Patriot News, Sunday, July 23, 2006

The oldest known Japanese wood-block prints date to the sixth century, but for centuries the technique was used primarily to reproduce text related to Buddhism and Confucianism.

The techniques are straightforward, if laborious. Words or pictures are carved into wood with sharp blades based on an artist's drawing. The raised portions are then inked and printed onto paper or fabric. Additional carvings that align perfectly with the original are needed if multiple colors are desired.

Pictorial woodcut prints appeared by 1640 as illustrations in books. By 1660, independent pictorial prints called ichimaie ("single sheet pictures") appeared. Soon after, printmakers began to sign their work, although the work remained a team effort thought of more as craft than art.

Woodcut printmaking has gone through several transitions in Japan since that time. Here are some of the important categories, according to Matthew Mizenko and Frank L. Chance, co-curators of "Modern Impressions," an exhibit of post-World War II Japanese prints currently displayed at Susquehanna Art Museum:

Ukiyoe: In the 17th and 18th centuries, prints were monochromatic, with shades added by hand. Subjects included courtesans, dandies and actors from the kabuki theater, known as the "floating world," or ukiyo. Ukiyoe literally means "pictures of the floating world." Hand coloring became more elaborate after 1700 and by 1730, artists began to experiment with printed color, using a second block to add red or green.

Nishikie: By the late 1700s, development of more accurate alignment methods led to nishikie ("brocade prints," a reference to the elaborate textiles fashionable at the time), in which multiple color blocks -- often 10 or more -- were used to make a single print. Subject choices for these increasingly ornate works reflected changes in early modern Japanese society: childlike waifs such as still appear in modern Japanese anime, and strong, sexy women.

The introduction of foreign dyes, particularly from England, during the 1830s, led to another transformation in the palette of colors available to printmakers. The chemical dyes, much stronger than the traditional vegetable dyes, brought a new subject area -- landscapes -- to the forefront.

Shin hanga: This describes a movement of 20th century artists who wished to revitalize the by-then stagnant tradition of wood-block printing. The shin hanga, or "new prints," artists used contemporary subject matter such as automobiles and Western-style dress in their landscapes. They still relied on the traditional collaborative approach, in which the artist worked with a team of artisans. This school is sometimes referred to as "neo-Ukiyoe."

Sosaku hanga: In a break with tradition, a group of Japanese woodcut artists began working on their own, performing all the drawing, carving, inking and printing tasks formerly accomplished by a team.

These sosaku hanga, or "creative prints," were signed by the artist and often identified with a symbol meaning "self-carved, self-printed."

The single-artist approach, reminiscent of Western art traditions, found favor among foreigners involved in the postwar occupation of Japan, including important patrons such as American author James Michener. Japanese prints began to be collected in Europe and the United States.

Works by these artists, created primarily between 1945 and 1980, comprise the print exhibit at SAM, which is on loan from Ursinus College. Notable sosaku hanga practitioners include Onchi Koshiro (1891-1955), Hiratsuka Unichi (1895-1977) and Saito Kiyoshi (1907-99), who all are represented in the exhibit.

source: http://www.pennlive.com/entertainment/patriotnews/index.ssf?/base/entertainment/115332185873430.xml&coll=1