6 Prints


MAKING WAVES The Art of Japanese Woodblock Prints


O


1849), Utagawa 1858),


ver 100 Japanese prints from celebrated artists such as Katsushika Hokusai (1760- Hiroshige (1797-


and Kitagawa Utamaro


(1754?-1806), among many others, will create a visually impressive display and provide intriguing insight into the history and development of Japanese woodblock printing. Covering over 300 years of


printing history, from the 17th to 21st centuries, the exhibition invites visitors on a journey through the origins


and techniques of early


printmaking before looking at major themes such the ‘floating world’ of urban entertainments, the beauty of the Japanese landscape, legendary heroes, and seasonal celebrations. It also explores how print artists responded


to major changes in


Japanese society, from Japan’s development into a modern industrial nation in the late 19th century through to the present day. Ukiyo-e


developed as an


independent genre in painting and book illustration by the late 1600s. Te idea of the floating world (ukiyo) was initially based on a Buddhist phrase referring to the transience of life, but was adopted by popular writers to evoke fleeting moments of beauty and pleasure that provided distraction from the cares of a regimented society. Book illustrations on these topics gained such popularity that artists began creating


single-sheet woodblock


prints to sell. Edo became the centre to produce ukiyo-e prints. Te genre of these floating world


prints was first created in the Edo period (1603-1868) as a response to the changing status of Japan’s rule, which not only transformed Japan’s political and economic world, but also caused major social changes in its population, bringing wealth and prosperity to the new urban elite and townspeople


(chonin). Te term


ukiyo-e itself first took hold at first in literature, establishing a trend from the 1670s in books of the floating world, ukiyo zoshi, which were written in kana, the native Japanese language, and not in Chinese, the language then used in public and for official administration. Tese books told stories of fantasy linked to the experience of the common people, the new


citizen classes and


burgeoning city life, incorporating aspects relating to the world of pleasure and the fleeting enjoyment of earthly things, episodes of libertinism and love theories, which had


until then been seen as


misleading for the spiritual growth of the individual by Buddhist scholars, and therefore rejected. In Edo, tastes and fashions were


dictated by the emerging urban class, composed mainly of wealthy merchants who, despite having no political power, began to allow themselves to enjoy luxury and entertainment of all kinds. Ukiyo, which until then had been understood in the sense of attachment to the illusory earthly world from which to escape,


according to Buddhist


teaching, now took on an opposite sense of enjoyment of the fleeting moment and of everything that was fashionable.


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Nakanocho in the New Yoshiwara by Kitagawa Utamaro II (flourished 1800s-30s), woodblock colour print, 1810, courtesy York Museums Trust


In response to government


restrictions placed on floating world subject matter in the early 1800s, artists began to explore new topics such as travel and heroes of ancient tales. Prints were a perfect medium for


this artistic experimentation.


After a breakthrough by Suzuki Harunobu in 1765, which allowed the production of multi-block colour prints, artists explored realism, nature, perspective, framing, and light with a level of intensity that spread their influence not only across Japan but also, after


the country


opened to foreign trade in 1868, to Europe. Tere, the Impressionists, struck by the Japanese printmakers’ use of colour, atmosphere, and composition, created a watershed style embarking upon Modernism. No exhibition of ukiyo-e could be


complete without prints of the daily pleasures on offer in Yoshiwara, the pleasure district that had developed just outside the city boundaries of Edo, where, once you entered the door, the shogunal rules no longer applied. Here fashion, novelty, and seduction reigned, fuelled by the elegance and rivalry of courtesans, who were supported by their wealthy patrons. Te floating world is brought to life in these colourful depictions in a frozen moment of daily life. Te interiors of the tea houses, the stroll along the central street of the pleasure district, beauty and bathing rituals, fashions, hobbies,


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compositions, which often include humorous depictions of people involved in


everyday activities in Eishi


wonderful detail, as well as masterly expressions of weather, light and the seasons. Other artists, such as Chobunsai (1756-1829),


also helped


Evacuation of Chiyoda Palace by Hashimoto Chikanobu, from the series The Inner Palace of Chiyoda, woodblock colour print, 1896, courtesy of York Museums Trust


Ukiyo-e developed as a print form during the Edo period


and festivals are all brought before our eyes by the great masters of the genre such as Utagawa Toyokuni, Kitagawa


Utamaro, Katsushika


Hokusai, Chobunsai Eishi, and Keisai Eisen. A few prints by Hokusai and


Hiroshige are included in the York exhibition alongside other ukiyo-e artists. Born to a family of artisans in Edo (present-day Tokyo), Hokusai began his artistic career at the age of six. At 19, he entered the school of Katsukawa Shunsho, where he mastered ukiyo-e following the style of woodblock prints and paintings focusing on images of courtesans and kabuki actors – the major celebrities in Japan’s cities at the time. Later, Hokusai began exploring other styles of art, turning away from the traditional subjects of ukiyo-e in favour of landscapes and daily life in Japan. Troughout


Hokusai is thought to have designed about 3,000 prints. On show is the


popularise the many theatres, tea houses, and celebrities and actors of the pleasure district in Edo. Tese ukiyo-e artists not only made prints for sale to Japan’s growing merchant class but also were hired to produce posters and advertisements for theatrical performances, as well as private commissioned works such as luxurious surimono for the new year and private events. Eishi was a prominent artist at the time, known for his paintings and woodblock prints of tall, graceful women (bijin- ga). Originally a samurai and painter for the Shogunate, he adopted the name Chobunsai Eishi when he moved to the world of ukiyo-e in the mid-1780s. Chikanobu Yoshu (1838-1912)


was a later ukiyo-e artist, becoming one of the most prolific woodblock print artists of this period, working with both traditional subjects, such as actors, courtesans, scenes of famous beauty spots, and beauties, as well as topical subjects such as war and rebellion. Born into a samurai family


in Echigo


province,


Chikanobu became one of the final, great ukiyo-e artists, aiming to preserve the traditional culture of Japan at a time when the country was becoming rapidly modernised. One of his prints in this exhibition depicts court


life in the palace of the


The Seventh Month by Hosoda Eishi (1756-1829), from the series Twelve Months in the Floating World, woodblock colour print, circa 1790s


his lifetime,


instantly recognisable Under the Wave off Kanagawa (1830–31),


created


when the artist was about seventy, more popularly referred to as ‘Te Great Wave’, which has become one of the most iconic images of Japanese art in the art world. Also represented is Utagawa


Hiroshige (1797-1858), one of Japan’s most popular and prolific artists. Te artist’s engaging way of depicting landscape, nature, and daily life in print was popular in Japan in his own day and continues to influence and inspire today. Hiroshige’s long career coincided with the last decades of Japan’s Edo period, a time of rapid change that eventually brought an end to samurai rule. As Japan confronted the encroaching outside world and the pressures of modernisation, Hiroshige’s


calm


A red Kintaro acting as an umpire for two battling tengu by Torii Kiyonaga (1752-1815), colour woodblock print. Tengu are winged, beaked, and clawed birds that lived in the mountains and forests.


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artistic vision encouraged a sense of continuity and hope. Possessed of outstanding technical skills as both a colourist and draughtsman, Hiroshige stands out also for crossing social boundaries, as can be seen in his landscape prints and his unusual


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Tokugawa shogunate. Te evacuation (otachinoki) seen in Evacuation of Chiyoda Palace from 1868 probably refers to the Great Fire of 1844 that destroyed much of the castle. Female guards, garbed in black robes tied with a bamboo-motif obi, assist in the emergency evacuation, carrying naginata spears – the weapon used by samurai women. Contemporary woodblock prints


are also featured in the exhibition, including several works by the current President of the Royal Academy of Arts, Rebecca Salter, which she created in collaboration with Sato Woodblock Workshop, Kyoto. Also on show are woodblock prints depicting the North York Moors by Scottish-based artist Laura Boswell, as well as works by London- based artist Nana Shiomi, whose 2001 print, Hokusai’s Wave- Happy Carp, is displayed alongside the woodblocks Shiomi used to produce it, allowing visitors to gain an understanding of the technical process of woodblock printing. Other works from York Art


Gallery’s own collection of Japanese prints, some of which have never been exhibited before, are also on display. Tey accompany a range of loans


from regional and national


institutions, such as early printed books from the British Library, kimonos from Durham Oriental Museum, and a selection of Japanese prints from Maidstone Museum and the British Museum.


• Until 30 August, York Art Gallery, York, UK, yorkartgallery.org.uk


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