![]() Sumizuri-e (墨摺り絵 ?, “ink printed pictures”)-monochrome printing using only black ink.While, again, text was nearly always monochrome, as were images in books, the growth of the popularity of ukiyo-e brought with it demand for ever increasing numbers of colors and complexity of techniques. ![]() This was especially helpful with the introduction of multiple colors that had to be applied with precision over previous ink layers. Although this may have been done purely by hand at first, complex wooden mechanisms were soon invented and adopted to help hold the woodblock perfectly still and apply proper pressure in the printing process. A small wooden hard object called a baren was used to press or burnish the paper against the inked woodblock to apply the ink to the paper. Wood was then cut away, based on the drawing outlines. The text or image was first drawn onto washi (Japanese paper), then glued face-down onto a plank of wood, usually cherry. Images in books were almost always in monochrome (black ink only), and for a time art prints were likewise monochrome or done in only two or three colors. The obvious differences were the volume produced when working with texts (many pages for a single work), and the complexity of multiple colors in some images. ![]() The technique for printing texts and images was generally similar. The Japanese water-based inks provide a wide range of vivid colors, glazes, and transparency. Although similar to woodcut in western printmaking in some regards, the moku hanga technique differs in that it uses water-based inks-as opposed to western woodcut, which often uses oil-based inks. Woodblock printing had been used in China for centuries to print books, long before the advent of movable type, but was only widely adopted in Japan surprisingly late, during the Edo period (1603-1867). * Woodblock printing in Japan (Japanese: 木版画, moku hanga) is a technique best known for its use in the ukiyo-e artistic genre however, it was also used very widely for printing books in the same period. Japanese woodblock print depicting Buddha holding a rosary and varja. S O L D Japanese woodblock print 19th Century, Meiji period, Japan High 68,58 cm | wide 48,26 cm.
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