The Ukiyo-e Makers

Ukiyo-e by Nobukazu Watanabe, ca. 1894

Ukiyo-e
Emperor Meiji on Official Mission
copyright protected

This article describes the team work character of the creation of Japanese prints and the different roles of the designer and the publisher in the ukiyo-e quartet".

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Print Designers and Publishers in Harmony

A far cry from the romantic image of the strict integrity of the inspired and individualistic creative artist, however, the print designers of Meiji and Edo had no qualms with the practices of their publishers.

These designers, who signed their work in colorful cartouches intended to capture attention, desired and often achieved the same celebrity as the actors and courtesans they depicted, and the more of their prints were available on the market, the more likely they were to be viewed as important and desirable artists.

Printmaking Schools

by Yoshitora Utagawa, ca.1840-50s

36 Views of Mount Fuji by Hokusai
Shita-e by Hokusai
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To keep up with the frantic pace of market demand, the main printmakers developed schools around them, and would rely on students for a portion of their production.

In sharp contrast to the European print, which was judged by its degree of fidelity to an original painting, most Japanese prints were copies without originals, not only because the initial drawing for a print was necessarily destroyed in the production process, but because the finished product might look little like its original design.

Shita-e

These shita-e, or preparatory designs, were often shoddy, hastily sketched blurs, which would be neatly recopied by a student, and embellished upon by the woodcarver as he prepared the block for printing.

Often they would merely contain shorthand, a small area of a kimono pattern drawn to represent the whole, or at worst a simple written notation of the pattern to be inserted. After the designer submitted this drawing, the rest of the production process was largely out of his hands, and though he might approve a trial copy of the cut block and mark it with colors for the printer, the exact choice of tones and the precise details of the carving were up to the discretion of the printer and cutter.

Hokusai, the Old Troublemaker ...

Hokusai Biography
Kanadehon Chushingura, Act 2
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In only one case has an artist's cry of protest against violence done to his design survived, in a letter to his publisher by Hokusai, who was considered something of an aberration for his close identification with his printed work.

... and Kunisada, the Ukiyo-e Assembly Line

Other nineteenth century designers competed for public attention not so much with the quality of their works as the quantity, particularly once they had become established. Thus the artist Utagawa Kunisada, the leading print maker of the mid-nineteenth century, is estimated to have produced some 40,000 plus designs, an average of about 2 finished works for each day of the 65 plus years of his working life.

How Subjects Were Chosen

Kunisada Utagawa - Woodblock Prints
Kabuki - A Visit
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As for the subjects of these "artist's" designs, they were chosen not by personal preference or fit of inspiration, but as commissions from the publishers, although admittedly a famous designer could approach his publisher with an idea for a print series that the publisher would no doubt accept if reasonable.

The works of "big name" designers generally sold very well, though there were cases in which excessive experimentation or a critical view of cultural icons led to some famous flops.

It was also possible for a private group, business or person to commission works from an artist directly, often as a commemoration of an event, an advertisement or a greeting card. But this was by no means the full extent of the general public's direct influence over print production.

Dan McKee, July 2003
(updated by Dieter Wanczura in November 2009)

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