When I first heard the name \u201cToshi Yoshida\u201d and the art form \u201cwoodblock prints,\u201d I thought for a while, but neither of them rang a bell.\u00a0 This isn\u2019t too surprising, since I was largely unfamiliar with Japan and Japanese art forms until this class.\u00a0 I soon found out why these two terms are connected with Japan and its ancient history.\u00a0 As it turns out, the form of woodblock prints are to Japan as sculptures are to Greece or even as skyscrapers are to America.\u00a0 The form, which contains flowing, curved outlines and yet intricate detail and color, originated in eastern Asia and was moved to Japan dating to the eighth century.\u00a0 Its unique details and vibrant colors deeply impacted other artists in both Europe and America later on.\u00a0 Examining the history behind woodblock prints in Japan lets us realize why \u201cToshi Yoshida\u201d is presently a household name within a very popular Japanese art form.<\/p>\n
As stated before, woodblock prints came over from China during the eighth century.\u00a0 The main reason for the spread of woodblock prints to Japan was due to the increasing awareness and practice of Buddhism.\u00a0 Originally, the prints were black, but colors were usually added to the prints in print shops later to make them more attractive, and they usually were part of illustrations in various texts.\u00a0 The time period in which woodblock prints originated was called the Heian period, in which many of the artists used yamato-e <\/em>or Japanese style prints.\u00a0 Yamato-e<\/em> pictures portrayed pictures of the world around them, including pictures of the soft rolling landscapes of Japan filled with vegetation.\u00a0 Similar to many of the paintings we see during later periods of Japan, many prints contained people performing tasks of daily life or acting out traditional Japanese tales.<\/p>\n Nearly nine hundred years later, as the popularity of woodblock prints increased, methods for woodblock prints also evolved.\u00a0 To meet the rising demand for these prints, many printers employed master carvers to make the blocks for them.\u00a0 The prints were gradually made much more attractive as well; starting with a single orange-red color, moving to a rose-pink color, and adding various yellow, blue, and green colors.\u00a0\u00a0 Eventually, some contained fifteen or more different colors!\u00a0 As the amount of colors and great detail increased, carving became much more important.\u00a0 It was during the Edo period, beginning in 1615, when the prints really started to take off, and artists began selling prints in the form of calendars and other media.\u00a0 Various subjects were printed during this time relating to the Yoshiwara district.\u00a0 This included literary scenes, celebrities, women, travel scenes, erotic scenes, and actors.\u00a0 Those who were at the higher end of the spectrum, complete with their stylish and fashionable clothing, contributed the most to growth of popularity amongst woodblock prints.<\/p>\n Common themes persisted throughout the next hundred years or so as artists began to make a name for themselves.\u00a0 The first prominent woodblock artist was Suzuki Hornbrook (Harunobu), whose famous image \u201cThe Koya Jewel River\u201d was distributed amongst Hornbrook\u2019s extremely rich clients.\u00a0 His luxurious colors, cherry wood, and heavy graded paper attracted those of the higher classes.\u00a0 It was his practice of utilizing different color blocks that contributed the most to the varied color schemes.\u00a0 Other artists quickly adopted his methods as thereafter we see extremely colorful prints.\u00a0 These artists include Kitagawa Utamoro (1750-1806), Torii Kiyonga (1752-1815), Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858), and Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849).<\/p>\n Before long, artists such as these achieved mastery of the woodblock medium, so much that they began to seek out new subject matter and contrasting styles.\u00a0 Erotic scenes from the Yoshiwara that were common only a hundred years previously, had now been banned by the government, which censored all prints.\u00a0 Artists concentrated their efforts instead on landscapes and celebrated sites of Japan, which attracted various consumers both in Japan and throughout the world.\u00a0 Even though travel was highly restricted by the shogun at the time, artists still explored their interest in western perspectives through their art.\u00a0 The return to landscapes and depictions of famous architectural buildings and monuments all inherently related western and Japanese art.<\/p>\n Towards the end of the Edo period (1830-1868), we see a decline in the quality of woodblock prints, as prints by Keisai Eisen (\u00a0\u00a0 1790-1848), Hiroshige III (1843-1894) and Toyokuni III (1786-1864) lacked the overall charm and elegance of works by their aforementioned predecessors (many of whom happened to be their ancestors).\u00a0 This may be caused by harsh government restrictions, but more likely is due to Japan getting caught up with Western civilization, woodblock prints and their methods were old-fashioned and widely considered a thing of the past.<\/p>\n Having said that, the work by Toshi and his father, Hiroshi, is even more impressive.\u00a0 Hiroshi was born towards the end of the Edo period, a time in which woodblock prints had lost popularity.\u00a0 The Yoshida family contributed to a revival of the woodblock print genre during the 1900\u2019s, as collectors enjoyed the landscape, abstract designs, and animal portraits that they offered.\u00a0 The portrait we studied, \u201cLioness B,\u201d is a prime example of subject matter that the younger Yoshida used, and does a great job of depicting the great detail that the Yoshida collection is particularly known for.<\/p>\n Woodblock prints are an integral part of Japanese art and history.\u00a0 They\u2019ve been around for about fifteen hundred years, and do a lot to tell us about themes and periods within that time.\u00a0 Certainly, their peak occurred at some point during the Edo period, but the recent work of the Yoshidas and other modern woodblock artists make sure that this art form will never be forgotten.<\/p>\n Azechi, Umetaro.\u00a0 \u201cJapanese woodblock prints: their techniques and appreciation.\u201d\u00a0 Tokyo:\u00a0 Japan Publications Co., 1963.<\/p>\n Fauntleroy, Carma C., \u201cHistory of Woodblock Prints.\u201d\u00a0 <http:\/\/www.artgallery.sbc.edu\/ukiyoe\/historyofwoodblockprints.html<\/a>><\/p>\n \u201cJapanese Woodblock Prints.\u201d\u00a0 < http:\/\/www.asianartmall.com\/woodblockarticle.htm<\/a>> Asian Art Mall<\/p>\n Takahashi, Seiichiro.\u00a0 \u201cTraditional woodblock prints of Japan.\u201d\u00a0 New York:\u00a0 Weatherhill, 1973.<\/p>\n Disclaimer<\/em><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Yoshidas and the History of Woodblock Prints in Japan When I first heard the name \u201cToshi Yoshida\u201d and the art form \u201cwoodblock prints,\u201d I thought for a while, but neither of them rang a bell.\u00a0 This isn\u2019t too surprising, since I was largely unfamiliar with Japan and Japanese art forms until this class.\u00a0 I … Continue reading “Evan Pierson”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":261,"featured_media":0,"parent":388,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"page-full_width.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-528","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/kucera\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/528","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/kucera\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/kucera\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/kucera\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/261"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/kucera\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=528"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/kucera\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/528\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":616,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/kucera\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/528\/revisions\/616"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/kucera\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/388"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/kucera\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=528"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Bibliography<\/h4>\n
\nBack<\/span><\/span><\/a> \/ \/ Gallery<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n