The Evolution and Significance of Japanese Woodblock Prints |
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The technique of woodblock printing can be traced to simple wooden stamps used to make impressions in clay and wax in ancient civilizations. With the invention of paper, stamps flourished into woodblock prints becoming an intricate process often used for illustrations. Woodblock printing is a method of relief printing in which the image carved into the surface of a wooden block is transferred to a sheet of paper. The process is traditionally a three-person succession. First the artist makes a design on thin semi-transparent paper, which is pasted face down on a woodblock. Next a carver cuts and chisels away the surface of the design forming a pattern of raised lines and depressed solid areas. Finally the printing specialist applies ink to surface of the woodblock over which paper is placed and pressure applied with a baren, or disk shaped pad. The raised surfaces transfer ink from block to paper creating a negative image (Yoshida and Yuki 25-27). The dissipation of woodblockng throughout Japan is not only linked to China and the introduction of Buddhism but also a factor for its speedy dispersal. The oldest example of the art dates to 770 A.D. with the use of a single block to produce Chinese characters in a scripture known as “Hyakumato Dharini” which was made at temples and distributed to believers. Towards the 11th century picture prints begin to appear in copies of Buddhist scripture illustrating deities and sacred scenes. The relatively inexpensive mass reproduction process was pivotal in the availability and circulation of Buddhist texts and illustrations. According to authors Yoshida and Yuki, woodblock remained a religious tool for centuries and "It is possible to say that for a long time—or, more precisely, till the beginning of the seventeenth century--the art of woodblock printing in Japan was used for no other purpose than that of religious propaganda" (Yoshida and Yuki 19). However beautiful illustrations were, woodblock prints were largely ignored until the beginning of the Edo period (1600-1868). In 1600, after years of bloodshed between feudal rivalries led by Samurai officers, the Tokugawa emerged victorious at the Battle of Sekigahara and reunited Japan ending the Sengoku. The subsequent 268 peaceful years of Tokugawa rule can be strongly characterized by the shogunate government and a policy of isolationism allowing for a unique development of culture (Kita 28). The Tokugawa established Edo (Tokyo)
as the capital of Japan and were so strongly identified with it that this
period is referred to as the Edo Period. It is within this time frame
and city that the evolution of ukiyo-e began. A rise in popular
literature among the merchant class led to a break with religious prints
and a shift to secular prints. One of the greatest contributors to
the emergence of woodblock printing from the woodwork of obscurity is Hishikawa
Moronobu (1615-1694) who succeeded in the production of simple but elegant
single-sheet impressions in black and white. His prints ranged from
festivals to erotica and introduced the notion that pictures could exist
independently from accompanying text to be appreciated as art. In
the early 18th century, color began to be applied by brush and then one
or two color blocks. In 1765, the transition to full-color brocade
printing took place with the application of polychrome woodblock techniques
first by artist Harunobu Suzuki, in the form of a calendar. The result
is described by Yoshida and Yuki as “unsurpassed in its harmonious use
of various colors and in its fine delicate lines” (20 Yoshida). This
is the final technical advancement that harkens the birth of ukiyo-e
(Yoshida and Yuki 19-21).
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The world in which ukiyo-e was born was dominated by the warlord government of the shogunate. The Tokugawa implemented a social system of shinokosho, which stratified society into four recognized classes of people in the following descending order: warriors, farmers, artisans, and merchants. Each strata of the shinokosho provided a service or product to society except the merchant class (chonin) who created nothing and lived parasitically off of the exchange of goods (Kita 28). Chonin controlled a large
portion of wealth but were denied political power and legitimacy.
Considered oppressed due to numerous laws and restrictions, the government
of the Tokugawa realized the need to provide a “safety valve” to release
the resentment built amongst the chonin in such an obstructed society.
This safety valve would become known as the floating world (ukiyo-e)
which included the Kabuki Theater and Yoshiwara district where laws were
not enforced and the chonin could be free. These attractions
became the center of chonin culture and from this culture the ukiyo-e
print was born (Kita 29). These popular pastimes of the floating world
turned into popular artwork meaning to In the Yoshiwara district, wealth could purchase female entertainment from the finest (oiran) to the lowest courtesans (teppo) and gave chonin an opportunity to act in the role of the aristocrat, quoting literature and commissioning art (Kita 39). These courteasan beauties took center stage in the prints and set the standards for popular trends with fashion and elegant poses. Their images reflect an expression of mood and personality shown in facial expression. Both of these images were highly idealized and fantasized to meet the current aesthetic. Common scenes were also captured such as domestic activities, festivals, even laundry (Kita 53). In the second quarter of the nineteenth
century landscapes, which were once considered mere background, began serving
in the foreground to illustrate man’s place with nature. In
the traditional Japanese view humans do not control or attempt to dominate
nature, but instead attempt to live in harmony with all other creatures
and natural forces of the earth. This is especially exhibited by
Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) one of the most famous landscape artists
of the 19th century whose Great Wave of Kanagawa is most recognizable.
There is a dramatic feel in the rise of the wave so close to the picture
plane towering above the men in boats who seem to bow to the wave (Addiss103-104).
This wave represents a temporary peak, which will fall in an instant but
Fuji in the center of the background remains, which is often linked, to
Japan’s sense of nationhood and patriotism (Baird 34) The other |
From 1853 to 1854 Commodore Matthew
Perry, a United States naval officer led an expedition to Japan ending
its policy of isolationism and opening ports. Exposure to the west
led to the exchange of culture as well as goods. In the West people
became infatuated with all things Japanese. In 1867 various Japanese
woodblock prints were displayed in the Paris Universal Exposition.
As a result of this contact a trend know as japonisme, the French
term for the Japanese aesthetic, became popular in fashionable Parisian
circles and greatly influenced Impressionist painters most considerably
in the United States and France (Adams 809).
The development of the polychrome
woodblock technique and the brocade print paved the way for graphic design
today. No graphic design will ever compare to the unique and unprecedented
style of the ukiyo-e. After 1868 with the restoration of imperial
power and the Meiji government there was a decline in standards of quality
and intinuity of the prints.
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Adams, Laurie Schneider. Art Across Time. New York: McGraw Hill, 2002. Addiss, Stephen. How to Look at Japanese Art. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1996. Baird, Merrily. Symobls of Japan: Thematic Motifs in Art and Design. New York: Rizzoli International Publications, Inc, 2001. Kita, Sandy. “From Shadow to Substance: Redefining Ukiyo-e.” The Floating World of the-e New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 2001. Yohsida, Toshi and Yuki, Rei. Japanese
Print Making. Vermont: Charles E. Tuttle Company, 1966
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http://www.artgallery.sbc.edu/ukiyoe/historyofwoodblockprints.html- Brief historical overview and summary of major artists. http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/ukiyo-e/major.html- Excellent links and of images of actors, beauties, and landscapes http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/cas/fnart/amico/images-disabled/japan/japonisme.html - Nice comparison of Western Impressionist works and Japanese woodblock prints. http://www.nihongo.org/english/arts/ukiyo-e/museums/ - Japanese television broadcast of Ukiyo-e museum |
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