The art of wood-block colour printing may be said to have enjoyed its finest period during the Edo Period, for it is then that one finds the flowering of this peculiar art of Japan. Again, it may not be in error to state that since the Edo Period there has been a retrogression rather than an advance in this art. We cannot help observing that those artists who have followed the style of wood-block printing developed during the Edo Period have more and more gradually, even from before and through the Meiji and Taisho Eras, fallen short of the achievements of that period. No one can deny that there has been continued copying but with the imitations rather poor comparatively. A renaissance is needed by which the creative art of the present period may bring new vitality and power to the wood-block colour print. Imitation must yield to the new creative power grafted on to the foundations so well laid during the Edo Period.

A study of the wood-block printing of the Edo Period shows great independence, indeed in many cases complete separation, with regard to the artist, the cutter, and the printer. The artist was engaged by the publisher to make the sketch and having been compensated, to a large extent had no further interest in the process. Likewise, in turn, the cutter and then the printer. It is evident that such a process could not but entail a great loss in that, for the production of the finest wood-block colour print, the creative art and vision of the artist is needed not only in the sketch but in the cutting and printing as well. Only in this way can continuity be assured and the vitality and power of the artist shown in full in the final result.

The foundation of all good wood-block printing rests upon the perfection of drawing and painting, of colour and line. These are truly essential, yet it is also true that the artist must see the end from the beginning. The entire course of the development of the print must be charted by him so that his creative genius may be seen not only in the foundation sketch but in the cutting and printing as well. To do otherwise involves a break in that continued development of the print which demands not only a diligent study and analysis of the colour print of the Edo Period, but also the infusion into it of the new creative features significant of the present time. Only in this way can a print be produced which will do full justice to the present creative vision and power of true Japanese artists.

TOKYO, January 1939
HIROSHI YOSHIDA

We know that the wood-block prints which Branguin came to produce a quarter of a century ago were turned out with the assistance of a Japanese cutter and printer who was in London in 1910 with the Japan-British Exhibition held at Shepherd's Bush, and has remained there ever since. These colour prints, therefore, may be said to be a variation of Japanese prints, based on the Japanese traditional method. Such being the case, it is but natural that this great master artist should be able to express his great power in the drawing in his wood-block colour prints, though his vigour and strength are not so evident in the colour and printing.

On the whole, the etching and wood-block prints of a single impression may be said to prevail in Europe and America. The Japanese artist, on the contrary, in producing wood-block colour prints thinks nothing of repeating the printing scores of times, prints produced by more than one hundred impressions not being very rare. Naturally, great difficulty attends such a process, which requires a great number of printings to complete a single picture. As one may well suppose, the Japanese process involves endless care, skill and patience. Yet the work is done without much ado, usually leaving but little trace of the great difficulties which had to be surmounted in the making of the print. The prints so produced look as if they had been done with the utmost ease and the simplest technique. The secret of it is based on the technique, the foundation of which had been firmly laid by the artists of the Edo Period (1602 -1867). Of course, the subjects dealt with in the prints of the Edo Period were peculiar to that period and highly popular then. The fashion in the style of prints, and the subjects favoured by the artists, change with the times. Yet the technique so highly developed then still serves us as a foundation upon which to build the structures of the present age.

It is well for us to realize at the very beginning that the art of block printing is not easy to master. The wood-blocks themselves, the cutting of them and printing from them, which are indispensable in the making of Japanese colour prints, are a very inconvenient and highly complicated medium with which to deal. Why, then, does this kind of print occupy such an important position in the world of block-printing? It must be on account of the excellence of the prints so produced.

The art of the printing of ideographs existed in Japan more than eleven hundred years ago, as shown by the printed darani (Sanskrit, Dharani) charms in Chinese characters contained in the one million stupas made in 770 A. D. at the command of the Empress Shotoku, many of which, both stupa and darani, are still preserved. The modern block-printing of drawings in sheet form came into existence some two hundred and fifty years ago, and the use of colour blocks came into vogue about fifty years later.

We all admire the world-renowned works of such masters as Utamaro, Harunobu, Kiyochika, Sharaku and Hiroshige, of the Edo Period. We admire their prints as we do the etchings of Rembrandt and Whistler. They were all great masters and we admire their works, though there was a difference in the mediums they used. In the West prints were made mainly by the use of metal or stone, but in the Far East the artists relied on wood-blocks. It is impossible for us to decide their relative greatness. But this much we may say: what were produced by Rembrandt and Whistler and other great artists of the West may be considered as flowers that bloomed in the art-field of the Occident, while the works of Utamaro, Harunobu, Kiyochika, Sharaku and Hiroshige may be looked upon as flowers that bloomed in the art-field of the Orient. They are both beautiful, and each has its own charm.

CHARACTERISTICS OF JAPANESE WOOD-BLOCK PRINTING

Outline Drawing (Sen-gaki)
Having completed the original picture, the artist proceeds to make a sen-gaki, or outline drawing. This is for use in making the key block. This drawing is extremely important, for it becomes the key to the different colours used in the print. It should contain all the most essential lines in the picture.

Sometimes I do away with the tracing on paper, and draw the outline directly on minogami for the block.

The drawing is generally made on thin minogami paper treated with dosa (the kind of sizing described later) with a Japanese brush, any kind of a pencil or a pen. It is important that the lines should be clear and definite. Ink is to be avoided, for it blurs when the paper is pasted face down on the block to be cut. When taking a pen, sumi should be used.

When the drawing is ready, the artist must not be hasty in pasting this sen-gaki on the block and proceeding to cut lines. One should hang it on the wall for a number of days and contemplate it, thinking about the later processes which must eventually follow. If one is too hasty, and it is found necessary to alter or add something afterward, it will be extremely difficult to make the change. It is very essential that one should give all the thought possible just here, before pasting the sen-gaki on the block for cutting. I usually keep it hung up for many days and think about the colour blocks and the different modes of printing to be employed.

Though his thought is indicated only by lines, the artist should be able to think ahead, to the end of the printing. If he does that, the print is more likely than not to be satisfactory when finished.

Suppose there are to be some glowing clouds in the sunset sky, and a part of them is hidden behind a mountain. When a separate block is made for the clouds and another for the mountain, it is difficult to know afterward the exact position of the clouds in relation to the mountain and just where the line of the cloud touches the slope of the mountain. So the line of the cloud must be extended to cross the line of the mountain slope, thus indicating the exact location which the artist wished to give the clouds. In this case the unnecessary part of the line known as muda-bori, or "unnecessary cutting," which was extended into the mountain should be taken away after the trial printing is made, and the exact position fixed by the register marks

Cherry-wood is desirable for it is more easily handled and less brittle than some other kinds of wood, and thus convenient for cutting and printing. At the same time it also has the special quality which gives nokori-enogu. That is, it has power to retain a part of the pigment after printing. By the time about ten sheets have been printed, the block absorbs and retains some of the pigment which cannot be wiped off or printed away and which gives a desirable tone to the print. The cherry-wood block gives the best impression.

Honoki is rather soft. Its surface with the rough fibre produces an impression not altogether pleasing. But beginners use it mainly on account of its being easy to cut. Sakura and katsura have a harder grain, but they are more satisfactory than honoki. In olden times other kinds of wood, such as keyaki (Zelkowa serrata, Mak.), were inlaid in the block in order to give the benefit of the grain in special selected parts of the print.

For a fine engraving, a cross-section, or end of the grain, of tsuge (Buxus sempervirens, L., or box-wood), tsubaki (Thea Japonica, or camellia) and others have been used. Sometimes pieces of tsuge or tsubaki were inlaid and cut in order to get fine durable lines for the eyes and other features. Of course, almost anything can be cut for a print, the potato, carrot and linoleum being among the common materials used. Linoleum is too brittle to give a sharp definition, and it does not print well with water colours. However, for serious work, in the production of art prints, cherry-wood should be chosen. Especially for the key block, dry cherry-wood of uniform texture, which does not warp, is best. Wood for the key block must be hard in order to give a clear, lasting impression.

Preparation for Block Cutting
Now the board will be ready to be worked on. The paper with the outline drawing (sen-gaki) is pasted on it face down, the lines showing through on the back of the paper. The board must be larger than the drawing; it should have enough margin to include right-angle (kagi) and straight-line (hikitsuke) register marks. The right-angle mark should be near the right hand bottom corner on the block and the horizontal line in front at a short distance from the left corner.

The pasting of the sen-gaki on the board to be cut is extremely difficult. In the Edo period a boy even after seven years apprenticeship to a cutter was not allowed to do this job. It was customary for the chief cutter to attend to the pasting of the drawing himself. To do this difficult work the necessary amount of rice paste is first placed upon the board. This is smeared all over the wood with the palm of the hand, thus covering the board uniformly with the paste. Then the whole surface is tapped with the palm of the hand flat so as to roughen it. This is done so that when the paper falls on it the paste does not immediately stick to the whole surface of the paper.

Having adjusted the bottom of the paper with the drawing on it to the lock, the paper is allowed to fall softly upon the block, the left half of the paper being held up between two fingers of the left hand. The middle of he paper is rubbed softly in a vertical direction with the right hand, thus securing the paper in position.

When the paper is pasted firmly on the wood, and while it is still moist, the top layer of the paper should be peeled off by rubbing the surface with the tips of the fingers, rolling the fibre of the paper into small rolls.

When an error in the drawing is corrected by pasting another piece of paper on top of the drawing, the unnecessary part where the paper is double must be attended to before the peeling begins. It must be cut with a sharp knife and taken off, leaving on the block only the piece of paper with the correct drawing which must also be peeled off to the proper degree. When dry, the block is ready to be cut, and this is to be the key block.

Cutting of the Key Block
In cutting the key block several tools are necessary: a to (knife), several aisuki (digging chisels), a couple of maru-nomi (rounded chisels) a hira-nomi (flat chisel), a few tsukibori (pushing chisels) a mallet, a small saw, and a grindstone. In olden times a kozuka (small knife worn on the sword) was used by converting it into a knife for cutting lines, but now a special tool has been made for the purpose. When using the knife, the right hand which manipulates it should be lightly supported by the left hand for emergencies. The necessary tools and their uses are as follows:

Toh, knife. Only one kind is necessary; used for cutting the lines by pulling it toward oneself with the flat side of the blade toward the line.

Ai-suki, flat chisels varying in width from one- to five-sixteenths of an inch. These are used for cutting away unnecessary parts of the board.

Maru-nomi, semi-circular chisels of two or three different sizes. These may have come originally from abroad, but have been in use in Japan for some time, long before the "modern" print-artists began using them. They come in different sizes and in irregular curves.

Hira-nomi, broad chisels to use on large spaces.

Tsuki-bori, for cutting by pushing forward. Several kinds of this type may be suitable for Westerners. I have been using some for cutting colour blocks. Some are V-shaped (sankaku-nomi); others U-shaped.

Kento-nomi, for cutting when changing the kento, or register marks.

Grindstones, both coarse and fine grained. All according to one's needs, used for sharpening the tools and grinding off the face of the block.

A small saw, for sawing off pieces of wood to be inlaid in the block by wedging them in when the wood chips off by an error in cutting. Unless one is very cautious the wood is liable to chip off while clearing.

It may be well for us to bear in mind that there are two kinds of prints: in one, great importance is placed on the cutting, in the other, on the printing. To my mind the importance should be evenly divided between the cutting and the printing, but often we find the print tends toward one emphasis or the other. European prints generally emphasize the cutting, and their methods are best adapted for such, while in Japanese prints it is generally best to place importance on the printing. The choice, however, may be left to the taste of the individual artist.

One way is to cut the lines with a knife exactly as drawn. This was the case in the Edo Period. The other is to cut with a tsuki-bori, creating the lines as the fancy of the cutter may move him; one line more or less would not matter in this style. The former places greater importance on the drawing, the latter on the cutting.

In handling the knife in Japanese fashion, note that it is drawn toward oneself and not pushed away, and that it should be pressed down by the thumb, and assisted by the left hand as we have already observed, in order to prevent it from slipping. The artist cuts the block with the knife as if he were using his brush in painting. It is difficult to keep the knife from slipping when cutting slantingly across the grain, or when one strikes the soft spot after the hard grain in working at curves.

When the lines cross each other, the knife should be drawn continuously, raising it slightly at the point where the lines cross. The slight cut does not show in printing, if it is done only on one side. The cutting should not be stopped in order to avoid the line, for if it is, the strength of the line will be lost. In the Edo Period it was customary for the cutters to cut the lines of the face in continuous strokes, as in drawing. The triangular corners formed by the intersection of lines should be cut and cleared so that the corner may be easily finished when it comes to sarai, the clearing of a vacant space.

The knife should be held aslant when cutting, so as to form a sloping ridge for the lines. The lines thus formed will be strong and will prevent surplus pigment from collecting along them.
It is also well to put in the sute-bori first. The term means "thrown away cuts." That is, a line is cut slanting the opposite way at some distance from the line to be cut. This decreases the resistance and prevents the knife from breaking, thus greatly facilitating the cutting.

When curved lines are cut by an inexperienced hand, the knife often breaks. It may be sharpened, however, each time it breaks, and while it may not take more than ten days to use up the whole knife when cutting curved lines continuously, yet the knife, even three or four inches long, can be used almost to the end by resharpening it each time it breaks. To cut curved lines requires a great deal of practice. Beginners in Japan are often required to cut words from the joruri-bon which is invariably written in a cursive hand. The curved lines give the cutters the best practice. The knot in the wood is a very hard problem. It must be observed well before the drawing is pasted on for cutting, lest an important part of the drawing fall on a pitchy knot difficult to cut.

The cutting is generally started about the middle of the block, and will be easier if the block is revolved. In olden times cutters were ashamed of revolving the block in cutting, as the painter was in revolving the silk in painting. But for no particular reason, other than the fact that the act was considered disgraceful. As we have already observed, the line should be cut first of uniform depth. In sarai, or clearing, the chisel should be moved as a lever about one-sixteenth of an inch away from the knife-cut. If there are places where the cut is forgotten, or if it is not deep enough, then the line may chip off. When the vacant space is very large, this space is left untouched, forming an island (if it should be beyond the reach of the baren when printing) in order to support the paper in printing, and in order to prevent it from touching the pigment on the block. This rarely occurs in the key block, but in colour blocks it is often required. When a broad chisel is used in clearing there is a tendency for the block to slip away from the artist. Cloth cushioned under it will help, or a peg on the table will prevent the board from slipping.

In olden times cutters were specialized: kashira-bori and do-bori. The heads and hands of the figures were cut by the former; the bodies, the background, and the rest by the latter. The hair was cut by the cutter, though not faithfully drawn, for it was impossible to draw it. The lines of the features were cut much finer than the brush could render them. In this respect the cutting was similar to the engraving of the West.