Reading the Fine Print: The Extraordinary Skill of Japan’s Woodblock Masters

Rebecca Salter Uncovers The Secrets Of The Master Printmakers

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  Suzuki Harunobu (1725-1770)
  A Girl In A Snowy Bamboo Grove 

  It is fitting for the sale to open with Suzuki Harunobu, who is generally credited with inventing kento, the registration system which made the complex, multi-coloured print possible. Accurate registration is the holy grail of multi-block printmaking and two simple carved notches on each block enabled Japanese woodblock to reach extraordinary heights of complexity.
  
  In this print, the soft white of the paper is used beautifully to represent the snow as it weighs down the bamboo, and underfoot. The shaded areas on the ground show the carver’s skill in first carving a defined shape and then carefully chamfering and ‘nibbling’ at the edge in a technique called sabitsuke. When printed, the edge is soft and appears almost painterly.
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  Torii Kiyonaga (1752-1815)
  A Party in the Shinagawa Pleasure Quarters

  This print, though just one leaf of a triptych, again highlights the extraordinary skill of the carvers. The kimono and the architecture are enriched with subtle textures, but here, the most extraordinary aspect is the mosquito net, partly obscuring the figures printed beneath. To create a net of this delicacy, the printer carved two blocks, one vertical, one horizontal, with lines of extraordinary fineness. This is only possible with the sharpest of carving knives - hangito - made of the same quality steel as a samurai sword, and a well-seasoned block of fine cherry wood. The layering of the figures both behind and in front of the net is subtle and sophisticated.
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  Kitagawa Utamaro (1754-1806)
  The Asahiya Widow 

  The silent star of this print is the white of the paper which as it ages, develops a warm blush, enhancing the colour of the printed marks. The widow’s hair is printed in rich black sumi ink, with incredibly fine chamfered carvings at the hairline, to soften the marks. The striking pattern on her kimono echoes the bold hair and the two are linked through the eloquently calligraphic lines of the towel.
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  Toshusai Sharaku (active 1794-1795)
  The actor Bando Hikosaburo III in the role of Sagisaka Sanai

  Sharaku’s identity remains a mystery to this day, but there is complete certainty about the power of his prints. This dynamic portrait of Bando Hikosaburo III is barely contained by the boundaries of the paper, as he turns to look beyond the frame. Anchoring the composition, however, is Sharaku’s signature use of a mica background. Under-printed in dark grey then over-printed with either nori (rice glue) or nikawa (glue) before being sprinkled with mica powder while still wet, the resulting background has a gentle reflective quality which would, in the real world, sparkle in the light of the lamp Bando carries.
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  Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858)
  A Western Pocket Watch

  In the context of celebrating the skills of the craftsmen, it feels appropriate to highlight a surimono. Surimono were private commissions for print aficionados, members of groups where there was keen competition between members not only in the quality of the poetry and the carved calligraphy but also in the complexity of the techniques used in the printed image. Complicated techniques using gold, silver and embossing (karazuri) were common and subtly indicated the wealth of the commissioner.
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  Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849)
  Sudden Rain Beneath the Summit (Sanka haku-u)

  This Hokusai image has become so familiar that it is easy to overlook the technical skill behind the creation of this famous work – in particular, the use of gradation (bokashi). The broad blue bokashi in the sky shades from intense blue at the top returning to intense blue on the horizon behind the stylised white clouds, fading to very pale blue in between. To achieve this intense blue the printer would need to overprint several times, carefully moving the edge of the shading back to achieve a seamless gradation from intensity to barely perceptible. The gathering clouds to the right are made stormy by the addition of a tiny section of bokashi, using sumi. The technique of bokashi, which bears faint traces of the brush, provides a soft backdrop to the stylised dramatic carving of the mountain in the foreground.