We have always been taught that the 1760s would see quite drastic changes, like someone pushing the button and lo and behold, there is the Floating World in multicolour. But is there more than just the birth of full-colour printing, the development of the so-called ‘brocade prints,’ nishikie (錦繪). And is there any effect of that innovation of multicolour printing, other than the numerous privately issued egoyomi (繪暦) for 1765 and 1766 and the Katsukawa trying to overpower the Torii portraits of actors. Is there more than just Suzuki Harunobu (1724?-1770, act. 1760-70) and Katsukawa Shunshō (1726-1793, act. 1764-1793). Are we indeed living in a different world?

Anyway, I am afraid that 1765 has become too much of a magical date – more about that later. What we see in single prints in the 1760s is a considerable decline, at least just focusing on the benizurie prints that Higuchi is listing (but still have to incorporate also Mutō’s database). His total for the 1740s is a pretty sound 188, but dropping to 129 in the 1750s – which is well before the development of full-colour printing – and again decreasing by almost 50% in the 1760s, to 100. Would this mean that the single prints from the latter half of the 1760s were all full colour prints?

As we saw before, tane were mostly produced simultaneously with black and white prints, from 1678 until circa 1723, whereas urushie had already been developed from 1717. And urushie then continued to be produced until circa 1752, with benizurie making their appearance as early as in 1744. And so we must also realize that mastering the technique of colour printing would not change the landscape of prints overnight. Indeed, we find benizurie still being published in the years 1766-68 (Torii Kiyohiro [act. 1752-68] and Kitao Shigemasa [1739-1820, act. 1765-1820]), or even as late as in the years 1770-73 (Kiyonaga, the fifth generation head of the Torii studio). Many regular buyers of prints were obviously simply happy with the benizuri portrayals of actors of the kabuki theatre that they had been buying for so many years. Moreover, and more importantly, it looks as if they simply had to still their hunger with benizurie, as they did not happen to belong to the circles that had access to the novel colour prints – as I will explain later on.

And how did other formats fare? Picture books of various kinds, mostly works with just illustrations and brief captions, but also of the ehon type that Sukenobu developed in the 1740s with illustrations to longer bits of text, these number like 58 in the 1740s, created by 12 artists, a figure almost doubled in the 1750s to 112 works by 23 artists. Actually, this is not very disparate in the 1760s, with 105 works created by 26 artists, with 5 artists being responsible for one single work only. But these are total figures. If we just focus on Edo productions, we are talking about a mere 15 works by three artists in the 1740s. For the 1750s, the figure is somewhat better, with 45 picture books by eight Edo artists, and in the 1760s we finally see some difference with the Edo production at almost half of the total of 105, with 50 picture books by nine artists.

This actually shouldn’t really surprise us, as we see the same in publishing in general: until the 1770s, the total production of books by Kyoto and Osaka publishers is far more than what Edo publishers produce. It is only from the 1770s that Edo publishers beat the combined production of Kyoto and Osaka publishers, and that is the situation until this day.[1]

If we also include enpon with the picture books – assuming that these were not really seen as very different at the time – the figure of 58 for the 1740s becomes 74, now by 13 artists. And for the 1750s, the figure of 112 becomes 122 by 25 artists, and for the 1760s this would be 105 plus 29 works by 11 artists (5 from Edo), which is different – but still nothing compared to what difference enpon would make in the 1770s.

For real change, we probably have to focus on popular novels of various sub-genres, such as ukiyozōshi, yomihon, kokkeibon, sharebon, hanashibon, akabon, kurohon, aohon, and kibyōshi, known collectively as kusazōshi (草双紙). Here we see eleven popular novels illustrated by 5 artists in the 1740s. This number is more than doubled in the 1750s, to 25 novels illustrated by 11 artists (three of which did the illustrations of one novel only, and one person only illustrated two novels). And in the 1760s this is more than quadrupled to 114 various kinds of novels illustrated by 12 artists (one being responsible for one work only, and another single person doing the illustrations of only two novels). So this is really booming, it seems.

[1] With the total production of 590 books in Kyoto and Osaka combined, versus 470 in Edo in the period 1727-49, and 1335 versus 1265 in the period 1750-74, this becomes 975 versus 1190 in the period 1775-1799, or even 510 versus 1130 in the period 1800-14.

Summarizing:

1730s Prints: 1) Nishimura Shigenobu [25]; 2) Torii Kiyomasu II [21]; 3) Okumura Masanobu [20]. ((66))

1730s Picture books: 1) Nishikawa Sukenobu [14/4]; 2) Takagi Sadatake [4/0/1]; 3) Okumura Masanobu [1/2]. ((26))

1740s Prints: 1) Okumura Masanobu [41]; 2) Torii Kiyomasu II / Torii Kiyonobu II [36]; 3) Ishikawa Toyonobu [30]. ((107))

1740s Picture books: 1) Nishikawa Sukenobu [29/0]; 2) Okumura Masanobu [3/15]; 3) Hasegawa Mitsunobu [7/0]. ((49))

1750s Prints: 1) Torii Kiyohiro [23]; 2) Ishikawa Toyonobu / Torii Kiyomitsu [22]; 3) Torii Kiyoshige [9]. ((67)) 1750s Picture books: 1) Hasegawa Mitsunobu [15/0]; 2) Ishikawa Toyonobu [7/5]/ Kitao Tatsunobu [12/0]; 3) Tsukioka Settei [9/1]. ((37))

Nishikawa Sukenobu’s (西川祐信) ehon of the 1730s: ((14 + 4 enpon)):

Nishikawa fude no yama (西川筆の山) 1 album, 1730s [1117]; Ehon Tsukubayama (繪本筑波山) 1 vol., I/1730 [M 60; 1119; Toda 133]; Ehon tatoegusa (繪本喩草) 3 vols., I/1731 [M 61; 1121; Toba 133]; Ehon tokiwagusa (繪本常盤草) 3 vols., VIII/1731 [M 62; 1120; Duret 79; Toda 131]; Onna fūzoku tamakagami (女風俗玉鏡) 2 vols., I/1732 [M 63; 1122]; Ehon minanogawa (繪本美柰能川) 1 vol., I/1733 [M 64; 1123]; Fūryū iromedoki (風流色□) 3 vols., 1733 [S 195]; Danshoku yamaji no tsuyu (男色山路露) 3 vols., c.1733 [S 172]; Nehan kyara makura (寝盤伽羅枕) 3 vols., c.1733 [S 178]; Yasa kurabe hana no sugatae (優競花の姿繪) 3 vols., c.1733 [S 209]; Ehon shimizu no ike (繪本清水の池) 3 vols., I/1734 [M 65; 1124; Toda 133]; Ehon arisoumi (繪本有磯海) 3 vols., I/1736 [M 66; 1125]; Ehon tama kazura (繪本玉かずら) 1 vol., I/1736 [M 67; 1126; Toda 134]; Ehon miyakodo’ri (繪本都鳥) 3 vols., c.1738 [1127]; Ehon yūsha kagami (繪本勇者鑑) 3 vols., I/1738 [M 71; 1128]; Ehon sonarematsu (繪本礎馴松) 1 vol., I/1738 [M 72; 1129]; Ehon asakayama (繪本浅香山) 1 vol., I/1739 [M 73; 1130; Duret 81]; Ehon ike no kokoro (繪本池の心) 3 vols., I/1739 [M 74; 1131].

Takagi Sadatake’s (高木貞武) ehon of the 1730s: ((4))Tokiwa hiinagata (常盤雛形) 3 vols., 1732 [839]; Ehon otogigusa (繪本御伽草) 3 vols., 1732 [840]; Ehon wakanoura (繪本和歌浦) 3 vols., 1734 [841]; Ehon buyū homaregusa (繪本武勇誉艸) 3 vols., 1734 [842]. No enpon

Okumura Masanobu’s (奥村政信) ehon of the 1730s: ((1 + 2 enpon)):

Ehon Kinryūzan Asakusa senbonzakura (繪本金龍山浅草千本櫻) 2 vols., 1734 [258]; Onna Shutendōji makurakotoba (女酒吞童子枕言葉) 3 vols., c.1737 [S 121]; Ono no otsū fumibunko (小野お津う文文庫) 3 vols., c.1738 [S 120].

Okumura Masanobu’s (奥村政信) ehon of the 1740s: ((3 + 15 enpon)):

Ehon Ogura nishiki (繪本小倉錦) 5 vols., 1740 [259; Duret 76-5; Toda 157]; Doji kaburomatsu (どうじかぶろ松) 3 vols., c.1742 [S 171]; Neya no hiinagata (閨の雛形) 12 oban, c.1742 [S 178]; Awajima hinagatazome (粟島島雛形染) 1 vol., c.1743 [S 76]; Tsurezuregusa monogatari yoru no kōshaku (徒然草物語夜講釈) 3 vols., c.1744 [S 169]; Enshoku – Kageboshi jūnidan (艶色-影法師十二段) 3 vols., c.1746 [S 126]; Zenaku – Uranai shigata Dōjōji (善悪-占仕形道成寺) 3 vols., c.1747 [S 88]; Enkō tora no maki (艶好虎之巻) 3 vols., c.1747 [S 98]; Shidōken koi no nazo hadaka hyakkan (志道軒戀の謎裸百貫) 1 album, c.1748 [S 152]; Shinoda denju no tama nanairo kitsune tenarai kagami (篠田傳授の玉七色狐手習鑑) 3 vols., c.1748 [S 152]; Yume monogatari – Tōkanmuri hana uirō (夢物語-唐冠華ういらう) 3 vols., c.1748 [S 171]; Enshoku – Azuma kagami (艶色-吾妻鑑) 5 vols., c.1748 [S 75], attrib.; Genkurō kitsune senbonzakura (源九郎狐千本櫻) 3 vols., 1749 [S 132]; Kaiawase – Hamaguri Genji kasengai (貝合-蛤源氏歌仙貝) 3 vols., 1749 [S 183]; Ehon fūga nana Komachi kinkishoga (繪本風雅七小町琴棋書画) 2 vols., 1740s [261]; Ehon bijingao no hiinagata sanjūnisō (繪本美人顔之雛形三十二相) 2 vols., 1740s [262].

Nishikawa Sukenobu’s (西川祐信) ehon of the 1740s: ((29)):

Ehon futa no oka (繪本双の岡) 1 vol., 1740 [1132]; Ehon chitose yama (繪本千歳山) 1 vol., 1740 [M 75; 1133]; Ehon tsurezuregusa (繪本徒然草) 3 vols., I/1740 [M 76; 1134]; Ehon asahiyama (繪本朝日山) 1 vol., 1741 [1135]; Ehon makuzugahara (繪本真葛が原) 3 vols., I/1741 [M 78; 1136]; Ehon chiyomigusa (繪本千代見草) 3 vols., III/1741 [M 79; 1137; Duret 88; Toda 135]; Ehon Izumigawa (繪本和泉川) 1 vol., I/1742 [M 80; 1138]; Ehon hime Komatsu (繪本姫小松) 3 vols., I/1742 [M 81; 1139]; Ehon Yamato hiji (繪本倭比事) 10 vols., I/1742 [M 82; 1140; Toda 136]; Ehon Yamato nishiki (繪本大和錦) 3 vols., I/1743 [M 83; 1141]; Ehon nezamegusa (繪本寝覚め種) 1 vol., I/1744 [M 84; 1142]; Ehon musha kōkan (繪本武者考鑑) 3 vols., 1744 [M 85; 1143]; Ehon ike no kawazu (繪本池の蛙) 3 vols., I/1745 [M 86; 1144]; Ehon hime Tsubaki (繪本女貞木) 3 vols., I/1745 [M 87; 1145]; Ehon wakakusayama (繪本若草山) 1 vol., I/1745 [M 88; 1146]; Ehon tsuru no sumika (繪本鶴のすみか) 1 vol., I/1746 [M 89; 1147]; Ehon Nishikawa Azuma warabe (繪本西川東童) 1 vol., 1746 [1148]; Ehon Miyako sōshi (繪本都草紙) 3 vols., I/1746 [M 91; 1149; Toda 141]; Ehon kame no oyama (繪本亀尾山) 3 vols., I/1747 [M 92; 1150; Toda 141]; Ehon kawanagusa (繪本河名草) 1 vol., I/1747 [M 93; 1151; Duret 82]; Ehon fudetsubana (繪本筆津花) 1 vol., I/1747 [M 94; 1152; Toda 142]; Ehon kaigasen (繪本貝歌仙) 3 vols., I/1748 [M 95; 1153]; Ehon hana no kagami (繪本花の鏡) 3 vols., I/1748 [M 96; 1154]; Ehon hana momiji (繪本花紅葉) 1 vol., 1748 [1155; Toda 142]; Ehon masukagami (繪本十寸鏡) 1 vol., I/1748 [M 98; 1156; Toda 142]; Ehon Ogurayama (繪本小倉山) 3 vols., I/1749 [M 99; 1157; Toda 142]; Ehon musha bikō (繪本武者備考) 3 vols., I/1749 [M 100; 1158]; Ehon Fukurokuju (繪本福禄寿) 1 vol., I/1749 [M 101; 1159]; Ehon yūbu kagami (繪本勇武鑑) 1 vol., I/1749 [M 102; 1160]. No enpon

Hasegawa Mitsunobu’s (長谷川光信) ehon of the 1740s: ((2)):

Ehon bunyū Shikishimadai (繪本文勇敷島台) 3 vols., 1748 [1245]; Daigaku Yamato kaishō (大学倭繪抄) 3 vols., 1748 [1246]. No enpon

Hasegawa Mitsunobu’s (長谷川光信) ehon of the 1750s: ((15)):

Ehon musha kabuto (繪本武者兜) 3 vols., 1750 [1247]; Ehon fuji no midori (繪本藤の緑) 3 vols., 1751 [1248; Toda 150?]; Ehon issei ando kusa (繪本一生安堵艸) 3 vols., 1751 [1249]; Ehon imayō hiji (繪本今様秘事) 2 vols., 1751 [1250]; Ehon meiboku Naniwatsu (繪本名木難波津) 2 vols., 1751 [1251]; Ehon eiyū kagami (繪本英勇鑑) 5 vols., 1751 [1252]; Ehon kaga otogi (繪本家賀御伽) 3 vols., 1752 [1253]; Ehon Naniwatsu (繪本難波津) 2 vols., 1752 [1254]; Ehon atsu? no gomi (繪本壓の塵) 3 vols., 1753 [1255]; Nihon sankai meibutsu zue (日本山海名物図絵) 5 vols., 1754 [1256]; Ehon otogi hyakka tomo (繪本御伽百哥友) 3 vols., 1754 [1257]; Ehon tohi mondō (繪本都鄙問答) 2 vols., 1755 [1258]; Ehon yoroigasen (繪本鎧歌仙) 6 vols., 1755 [1259]; Ehon buyū sakura (繪本武勇櫻) 2 vols., 1756 [1260]; Ehon zokusetsu mantoku nezumi (繪本俗説萬徳鼠) 3 vols., 1758 [1261]. No enpon

Ishikawa Toyonobu’s (石川豊信) ehon of the 1750s: ((6 + 5 enpon))

Iro keizu (色系図) 3 vols., c.1750 [S 81]; Sōka ehon (草花繪本) 1 vol., 1751 [28]; Ehon rigensō (繪本俚諺草) 3 vols., 1752 [29]; Ehon xxgusa (繪本□草) 2 vols., 1752 [30]; Ehon Azuma no mori (繪本東の森) 2 vols., 1752 [31]; Iro asobi (色あそび) 3 vols., c.1752 [S 81]; Iro tsu kagami (色通鑑) vols., 1753 [S 82]; Ehon mattekibana (繪本末摘花) 1 vol., 1757 [32]; Koshoku – Haru no kaze (好色 -春の風) 3 vols., c.1757 [S 184]; Ehon buyū tazuna (繪本武勇太図那) 3 vols., 1759 [33].

Kitao Tatsunobu’s (北尾辰宣) ehon of the 1750s: ((12)):

Shinobusuri (しのぶすり) 2 vols., 1750 [534]; Ehon Ōegishi (繪本大江岸) 2 vols., 1752 [535]; Ehon utai sugata (繪本謡姿) 3 vols., 1753 [536]; Ehon kotobukigusa (繪本壽き草) 3 vols., 1753 [537]; Ehon musha no umi (繪本武者海) 3 vols., 1754 [538]; Ehon musha heirin (繪本武者兵林) 3 vols., 1754 [539]; Ehon ura no chidori (繪本浦千鳥) 1 vol., 1755 [540]; Ehon xx?surigusa (繪本□摺り草) 2 vols., 1756 [541]; Ehon Yamato rongo (繪本倭論語) 3 vols., 1756 [542]; Ehon hyakunin isshu (繪本百人一首) 1 vol., 1757 [543]; Ehon chiyonegusa (繪本千代根艸) 1 vol., 1757 [544]; Ehon tama koi no ike (繪本玉濃池) 3 vols., 1758 [545]. No enpon

Tsukioka Settei’s (月岡雪鼎) ehon of the 1750s: ((9 + 1 enpon)):

Onna dairaku takarabeki (女大楽寶開) 1 vol., 1751 [S 121]; Ehon Tatsutayama (繪本龍田山) 3 vols., 1753 [969]; Yūjo gojūnin isshu (遊女五十人一首) 2 vols., 1753 [970; Toda 331]; Ehon kotoba no hana (繪本言葉花) 3 vols., 1754 [971]; Ehon wakaen (繪本和歌園) 3 vols., 1755 [972]; Onna buyū yosooi kura (女武勇粧競) 3 vols., 1757 [974; Toda 331]; Hanafuku hyakunin isshu (花福百人一首) 1 vol., 1758 [975]; Ehon hime bunko (繪本姫文庫) 5 vols., 1758 [976]; Ehon kōmei futabagusa (繪本高名二葉草) 3 vols., 1759 [977; Toda 332]; Ehon mushadan (繪本武者団) 3 vols., 1759 [978].

A closer look at single prints in the 1730s through the 1750s – Perspective prints As for ukie, these seem to be an innovation that we owe to the visionary Okumura Masanobu, generally believed to date from 1739 onwards.[6] This date is based on a design after a theatrical performance in III/1739 of the play Hatsu motoyuitsū Soga (初鬠通曽我), staged at the Ichimura Theatre (KN 2:303), and also the Zoku dankai (続談海) records for the same year 1739 that ‘ukie are being published’ (浮繪出板行事). From then, their numbers increase, and the Annals of Edo in Musashi Province, Bukō nenpyō (武江年表, 1-151) confirm the existence of ukie in its general observations for the Enkyō Period (1744-1748).

These obvious references to the prints, alas, fail to give us an answer to the question why these were then being designed and made. Of course, being Dutch myself, I would like to see them as the Japanese alternative for the optica prints that were then imported into Japan in large numbers by the Dutch at Deshima.[7] But it is only from the 1760s and 1770s that we will see Japanese copies after European optica prints of the Canal Grande in Venice, the Forum Romanum, the Colossus of Rhodos, and many more hand-coloured copper plate prints of famous sites and European townscapes, mass-produced in Paris, London and Augsburg from the 1740s.

Earlier ukie all focus on Japanese scenery, be it a view of enjoying the evening cool at Ryōgokubashi, the interior of some kabuki theatre, a street lined on both sides with shops selling materials, a view of the main street of the Yoshiwara, or temple compounds. Moreover, most, if not all perspective prints, have a title and the names of their designer and publisher in a vertical band in the right hand margin. These would thus be readable for the operator of the ōkarakuri in which these prints would normally be shown at the time, a box-like apparatus equipped with magnifying lenses so people would look through these lenses and thus get something like a three-dimensional view of some cityscape. There is some pictorial evidence attesting to the existence of these ōkarakuri, also called ‘Dutch peeping boxes,’ Oranda ōkarakuri, in books of the period and, in fact, even suggesting that these were already in use at a much earlier date than we assign to ukie, as early as 1730.[8] So what did they show then? Their formats, especially the large ones that measure like 345 – 436 x 470 – 642 mms, seem rather appropriate for vistas to be shown to some audience in such an apparatus than as items that would be bought by private people who would keep them in some box together with their other prints. The smaller ones are of a slightly more modest size, measuring 240 – 278 x 395 – 413 mms, but also that is still pretty large.[2] It is only from the 1760s that perspective prints take the format of the standard ōban, and apparently start catering to a market of well-to-do citizens that may even own a zograscope themselves for viewing these prints, as we can see in a Harunobu print of the late 1760s.

In the first decades since they were first developed in 1739, most such ukie would either represent the interior of one of Edo’s kabuki theaters, or offer us a view of the main street of the Yoshiwara pleasure quarter seen through the entrance gate, Ōmonguchi. Their main designers are Okumura Masanobu (12), Tanaka Masunobu (5), Torii Kiyotada (2), Teigetsudō (1), Furuyama Moromasa (4), Nishimura Shigenobu (1), Nishimura Shigenaga (10), Torii Kiyohiro (1), Torii Kiyotada (2), Kōgetsudō (1), and Torii Kiyomitsu (1), for a total of some forty prints, mostly dating from the 1740s. However, their real flowering is from the 1760s and 1770s, when artists such as Utagawa Toyoharu make these his specialty, and later also, for some time, Utagawa Toyokuni (1769-1825), Kitao Masayoshi (1764-1824, act. 1780–), and Katsukawa Shunrō (1760-1849), the later Hokusai. No, perspective prints were not just some temporary vogue, they would even live on in the Japanese etching or copperplate tradition of the first half of the nineteenth century.

An overview of early Ukie, based on Higuchi and Kishi Fumikazu, Edo no enkinbō. Tokyo: Keisō Shobō, 1994, would give the following:

◊ Anonymous painting: Ichimuraza jōnai no zu (市村座場内之図), after the play Tokiwagi Taiheiki (瑞樹太平記), staged XI/1739 at the Ichimura Theatre (KN 2:306), published anonymously;

◊ Okumura Masanobu: Shibai kyōgen butai kaomise daiukie (芝居狂言舞台顔見世大浮繪), after the play Miyabashira Taiheiki (宮柱太平記), staged XI/1740 at the Nakamura Theatre (KN 2:314), published by Okumuraya Genroku [H52];

◊ Okumura Masanobu: Shin Yoshiwara Ōmonguchi Nakanochō ukie kongen (新吉原大門口中の町浮繪根元), after the situation in between the years 1741 and 1744, published by the Okumuraya;

◊ Okumura Masanobu: Shibai kyōgen ukie kongen (芝居狂言浮繪根元), after the play Futayosooi mitsugi Taiheiki (艤貢太平記), staged XI/1743 at the Nakamura Theatre (KN 2:422), published by Okumuraya Genroku;

◊ Okumura Masanobu: Shibai kyōgen ukie kongen (芝居狂言浮繪根元), after the play Sazareishi suehiro Genji (□末廣源氏), staged I/1744 at the Nakamura Theatre (KN 2:445), published by Okumuraya Genroku (?);

◊ Tanaka Masunobu: Untitled theatre interior, after the play Nanakusa wakayagi Soga (七種□曽我), staged Spring/1744 at the Ichimura Theatre (KN 2:446), published by Izutsuya Sanemon;

◊ Anonymous: Untitled theatre interior, after the play Kachō Taiheiki (花鳥太平記), staged XI/1744 at the Nakamura Theatre (KN 2:448), published by unknown;

◊ Torii Kiyotada: Untitled theatre interior, after a performance of Shibaraku (暫), staged XI/1744 at the xx Theatre (KN 2:000), published by Urokogataya;

◊ Okumura Masanobu: Shin Yoshiwara Ōmonguchi Nakanochō daiukie (新吉原大門口中の町大浮繪), after the situation in between the years 1744 and 1745, published by Okumuraya Genroku;

◊ Tanaka Masunobu, attrib.: Untitled, view of the Ōmonguchi of Shin Yoshiwara, after the situation in between the years 1744 and 1745, published by unknown;

◊ Furuyama Moromasa: Shin Yoshiwara Ōmon yuki no kei no iro (新吉原大門雪景色), after the situation in between the years 1744 and 1748, published by Igaya;

◊ Okumura Masanobu: Shibai kyōgen butai kaomise daiukie (芝居狂言舞台顔見せ大浮繪), after a performance of Yanone (矢の根), staged XI/1745 at the Nakamura Theatre (KN 2:479), published by Okumuraya Genroku;

◊ Tanaka Masunobu: Ichimuraza shin kyōgen (市村座新きょうげん), after the play Onna kusunoki yosooi kagami (□楠□粧鑑), staged XI/1745 at the Ichimura Theatre (KN 2:479), published by Izutsuya Sanemon;

◊ Okumura Masanobu: Shin Yoshiwara Ōmonguchi ukie kongen (新吉原大門浮繪根元), after the situation of circa 1745, published by Okumuraya Genroku; ◊ Tanaka Masunobu: Yoshiwara Nakanochō (吉原中の町), after the situation after the year 1745, published by Izutsuya Sanemon.

[6] Yet, Cal French in his monograph on Shiba Kōkan asserts that ‘the first uki-e, executed in Japan around 1734’ – apparently on the presumption that 1734 is the year of publication of Shimada Dōkan’s Kiku genpō chōken bengi (Understanding the Basic Rules for Viewing Towns with Compass and Ruler, 島田道桓:『規矩元法町見辨疑』), adapted after Abraham Bosse Algemeene manier van de Hr. Desargues tot de practyk der perspective gelijk tot die der meet-kunde. Amsterdam 1686.

[7] What is probably the first unmistakable record of the Dutch importing ‘a perspective with painting for the Lord of Suruga’ dates from VIII/1755, and  ‘a perspective with eighteen prints for the Lord of Sama (Saga?), and idem for the Lord of Shiga’ dates from 1759.

[8] See, for example, Hasegawa Mitsunobu: Ehon otogishina kagami of 1730.

[9] Interestingly, in the Kansai area, a smaller size was apparently in use, at least if we may accept that the many so-called meganee that Maruyama Ōkyo (1733-1795) painted from 1759 just to make a living – though he himself would later deny that – were used for showing in these karakuri. These only measure 205 x 270 mms. However, a printed one, hand-coloured and anonymous, is slightly larger, measuring 227 x 337 mm. It is titled Perspective View of the Large Room of a Teahouse (Ukie ageya ōzashiki), showing people partying in the large room of one of the teahouses in the Shimabara pleasure quarter in Kyoto, published by Kikuya xx? at Kyō Teramachidōri sanjō agaru xx?. Quite interestingly, it is pasted onto several layers of paper, so as to facilitate handling by the operator of the karakuri. As for the publisher – only the Kikuya is still readable, the rest is effaced from handling – this is not Kikuya Kihei, who is located at Teramachidōri Matsubara kudaru machi.  

A closer look at single prints in the 1730s through the 1750s – Pillar prints We already saw three new developments in the format of single prints: the first examples of printing just two colours, the benizurie, from 1744, and pillar prints, or hashirae, as an experiment with a quite demanding surface to work with, and perspective prints, ukie, as a totally innovative way to represent a three-dimensional reality.

As for pillar prints, hashirae, Okumura Masanobu makes a claim to be the originator, hashirae kongen (はしら繪根元).[1] And, although this may well be justifiable, he no doubt was real innovative, both as a designer of prints and as a publisher, the three earliest datable examples should be identified with the designer Torii Kiyoshige (act. 1721-73) and with the publisher Urokogataya.[2] It is quite well possible that Masanobu, in his capacity of a publisher of prints, came up with the idea, maybe just discussing some ideas with his regular clients, and found himself sufficiently encouraged. And maybe he did issue some examples predating the earliest datable pillar prints. And then there is the suggestion that pillar prints just owe their invention to a simple accidental warping of a printing block, and making a publisher realize that one figure might be more attractive than a couple – quite well imaginable as Japanese printing blocks were cut xxxx. But it certainly was a risk to begin with, we must realize that prints of such a large size would certainly cost quite some money, if only because of the format of both the printing blocks and the size of the sheets of paper.

The earliest hashirae prints measure 638 – 738 x 146 – 262 mms., later, we also see some that even measure 1018 – 1050 x 162 – 163 mms. Yet, they seem to have been an almost immediate success, with six designs by Torii Kiyoshige datable to the years 1736-55, probably all published by Urokogataya; twenty-four by Okumura Masanobu datable to the years 1743-49, most likely all published by himself; ten by Nishimura Shigenaga, published by Tsuruya and Urokogataya in 1743; two by Furuyama Moromasa (act. 1690s-00); one by Torii Kiyonobu II; and at least thirty-four by Ishikawa Toyonobu datable to the years 1743-49, mostly published by Urokogataya, but some by Izumiya, Murataya, Nishimura, and Maruko. Yet, remarkably, we cannot, so far, identify any hashirae designed by Kiyomasu II. Later on, we would see much larger numbers, first by Torii Kiyomitsu, later by Harunobu, Isoda Koryūsai (act. 1767-80) and Torii Kiyonaga (1752-1815, act. 1774-1800), indeed, pillar prints were not just some short-lived temporary vogue.

In chronological order, as far as we can get some idea of the beginning of hashirae based on datable examples, we get the following picture:

◊ Torii Kiyoshige: The actor Ichikawa Ebizō in the role of Shinozuka, Lord of Iga, in the play Junpū Taiheiki (順風太平記), staged XI/1736 at the Kawarazaki Theatre (KN 2:241), published by Urokogataya [H7];

◊ Torii Kiyoshige: Sanogawa Ichimatsu as the page Yoshida Jinnosuke in Myōto hoshi fuku Nagoya (女夫星福名古屋), staged VII/1742 at the Nakamura Theatre (KN 2:377), published by Urokogataya [H8];

◊ Torii Kiyoshige: Matsumoto Kōshirō as Fuwa Banzaemon in Myōto hoshi fuku Nagoya (女夫星福名古屋), staged VII/1742 at the Nakamura Theatre (KN 2:377), published by Urokogataya [H9];

◊ Okumura Masanobu: The actor Onoe Kikugorō as Yoshino, in Haru no akebono kuruwa Soga (春曙廓曽我), staged I/1743 at the Ichimura Theatre (KN 2:415), published by his own firm (Art Institute of Chicago) [H75];

◊ Nishimura Shigenaga: Sanogawa Ichimatsu as Hisamatsu in Monryoku tokiwa Soga (門緑常盤曽我), staged I/1743 at the Nakamura Theatre (KN 2:413), published by Urokogataya (Art Institute of Chicago) [H45];

◊ Ishikawa Toyonobu: Sanogawa Ichimatsu as Hisamatsu in Monryoku tokiwa Soga (門緑常盤曽我), staged I/1743 at the Nakamura Theatre (KN 2:413), published by Urokogataya [H4];

◊ Ishikawa Toyonobu: Sanogawa Ichimatsu as Hisamatsu in Monryoku tokiwa Soga (門緑常盤曽我), staged I/1743 at the Nakamura Theatre (KN 2:413), published by Izumiya [H3];

◊ Okumura Masanobu: Onoe Kikugorō as Kichisaburō, in reality Soga no Gorō in Nanakusa wakayagi Soga (七種わかやぎ曽我), staged Spring/1744 at the Ichimura Theatre (KN 2:446), published by his own firm [H76].

[1] I am aware that Julian Lee wants to interpret ‘kongen’ as ‘excellent, superb, outstanding,’ but I am afraid that I fail to see why.

[2] Already in 1921 and maybe even in the 1911 first edition that I don’t have at hand, Julius Kurth in his Der japanische Holzschnitt. München 1921², p. 37, identifies Kiyoshige as the first to design hashirae.

Picture books in the years from the 1730s through the 1750s – General For much of this period, Nishikawa Sukenobu and Okumura Masanobu play a major role, Sukenobu ranking first with eighteen titles in the 1730s, and Okumura Masanobu ranking third, with only three titles. In the 1740s, Sukenobu is still holding the first position, now with twenty-nine titles, Masanobu following in the second position, indeed more seriously, with eighteen titles. Third is the Sukenobu pupil Hasegawa Mitsunobu with seven titles. In the 1750s, both Masanobu and Sukenobu are no longer to be found in the first three positions – Sukenobu dies in 1751, at the age of 81 years old. Hasegawa Mitsunobu, whom we saw in the third position in the 1740s, now leads with fifteen titles, and then we see some new names in the second position, such as Ishikawa Toyonobu (1711-1785, act. 1730s-79) and Kitao Tatsunobu (act. 1747-72), each with twelve titles, followed by the Osaka artist Tsukioka Settei (1710-1786, act. 1751-87) with ten titles in the third position. Anyway, the strong representation from the Kansai region that started with Sukenobu’s breakthrough in the 1710s is not over yet, and its lasting influence on Edo imagery is still to come.

Looking at the number of works of an erotic nature, in the 1730s there are only six titles (4 by Sukenobu, 1 by Takagi Sadatake [act. 1720-52], and 2 by Masanobu), versus nineteen of non-erotic content (14 by Sukenobu, 4 by Sadatake, and 1 by Masanobu). For the 1740s, these figures would be fifteen for erotic works, all by Masanobu, versus thirty-nine non-erotic works (29 by Sukenobu, 3 by Masanobu, and 7 by Mitsunobu). And for the 1750s, we can only identify six erotic works (5 by Toyonobu and 1 by Settei), versus forty-three non-erotic works (15 by Mitsunobu, 7 by Toyonobu and 12 by Tatsunobu, and another 9 by Settei).

As a consequence, we must conclude that works of an erotic nature make out only some 26% of the picture books issued in the years from the 1730s to the 1750s – remember, this was 77% in the 1710s. This might suggest that the Kyōhō Reforms did have some impact. If so, this would at least be temporarily, as the 1770s would see their greatest flowering in the eighteenth century – in numbers that is, percentagewise we will have to wait and see, this may well be different. It is also interesting to note that quite a number of designers seem to abstain completely from designing enpon, such as, for example, Nishimura Shigenaga, Torii Kiyomasu II, Hasegawa Mitsunobu, Torii Kiyonobu II (1706-1763, act. 1726-60), Takagi Sadatake, Torii Kiyomitsu, and Torii Kiyotsune.

Most interesting is yet another development that we can observe from the 1750s: the modest beginnings of professionals illustrating popular novels. The first, admittedly still weak sign of this, we can see in the circumstance that the eleven illustrated novels for the 1740s – with Yamamoto Shigeharu (act. 1740s-50s?) illustrating one aohon novel and three kurohon novels, Torii Kiyomitsu (1735-1785, act. 1752-78) doing the illustrations of two kurohon novels and one aohon novel, and Nishimura Shigenaga illustrating one novel of the ukiyosōshi type – are easily being doubled to twenty-five illustrated novels in the 1750s – with Kiyomitsu being responsible for illustrating two novels of the kurohon genre and three aohon novels, Torii Kiyomasu II (1706-1763, act. 1728-60) illustrating three kurohon novels and one aohon, and Torii Kiyotsune (act. 1758-80) two more aohon novels.

Figures such as eleven illustrated novels in the 1740s, or more than the double in twenty-five for the 1750s may still seem quite unimportant, but then they really more than quadruple and become like 114 in the 1760s. Indeed, Kiyotsune and Kiyomitsu would then be responsible for illustrating forty-three and forty popular novels respectively, and that still hardly compares with Tomikawa Ginsetsu Fusanobu (act. 1756-81) who would in the same 1760s illustrate no less than 126 popular novels – “Illustrated a few small books” is the comment in Roberts, p. 27, with many more to follow in the 1770s. — At some point, I will go into more detail in regard to the illustration of popular novels of various kinds.

Prints in the years from the 1730s through the 1750s – General By the 1730s, hand-coloured tane prints, actually last seen in 1723, definitely belong to the past. By then, until the early 1750s, or more precisely until 1752, as far as we know, equally hand-coloured lacquer prints, urushie, are the standard. But we are not there yet, benizurie (紅摺繪), prints mostly featuring printed, yes printed, crimson red and green, make their appearance from 1744 as yet another development in printing.

But there is more. Another innovation is the ‘pillar print,’ hashirae (柱繪), the ‘invention’ of which is often attributed to Okumura Masanobu, sometime in the 1740s – but the earliest datable example is from 1736, and not by Masanobu, making it more likely that it would be the publisher Urokogataya who deserves to be credited with this innovation.[1] They are narrow upright prints, their literal translation being ‘pillar prints,’ after ‘pillar’ hashira, and ‘print’ e. For quite some time it was the believe that these served as a cheap alternative for people who couldn’t afford paintings, instead pasting such a print on some pillar in the house. This is difficult to verify, as it would be quite exceptional to find just some reliable pictorial evidence for this (erotic albums offer the best chance for interior scenes, but their overall reliability is questionable). There is at least one example of a hashirae print mounted as if it were a painting and even seen hung from the hashira in an interior, but it must be said that this concerns a hashirae designed by Harunobu, moreover figuring in a Harunobu print, and thus dating from much later, the late 1760s, so this couldn’t say anything about the reason why they were developed originally.

On the other hand, we sometimes encounter hashirae prints in some cheap paper mounting, not the silks and brocades used normally in the mounting of paintings, and indeed, these mostly date from later periods. Still, there may be, of course, some truth in the idea that hashirae served as some kind of alternative for paintings, for some, at least. Even so, why would it be an alternative. It may just as well be that people buying hashirae simply didn’t even consider buying a painting. Looking at what hashirae generally show, it is mostly women at various engagements, holding an umbrella, playing with a cat, reading a letter, or an oiran with her trainee, or women alighting from the bath and clad in just a yukata and being greeted by a gentle breeze so their legs are exposed, and then there are also some occasional actors in role. Especially the women are often represented much more loosely than we would find them in the paintings of the time, where impressive portraits of high-ranking courtesans are rather favoured, and thus catering to an altogether different clientele.

Yet another new development is the ‘perspective print,’ ukie (浮繪), a concept first conceived in around 1739, the earliest known example being an anonymous painting after the play Tokiwagi Taiheiki (瑞樹太平記), staged XI/1739 at the Ichimura Theatre (KN 2:306).[1] Then we know of a print by Okumura Masanobu after a performance in III/1739 of the play Hatsu motoyuitsū Soga (初鬠通曽我), staged at the Ichimura Theatre (KN 2:303). From then on, they become something like a sub-genre of prints. Indeed, although these must have been a completely different way of viewing a two-dimensional representation of a three-dimensional reality, and totally ignoring a centuries old tradition going back to big brother China, these prints that applied a Western linear perspective instead, with a clear vanishing point on the horizon, seem to have taken Japan by storm.[3] The reason for this can only have been a broad interest in the world outside Japan. These prints are mostly of a quite large size and designed to be displayed by street performers in an apparatus known as a karakuri, or even called an Oranda ōkarakuri, allowing some persons to view these prints through a lens that would even increase the idea of a three-dimensional reality – somewhat like the virtual reality eye masks of today (more below). Yet, ukie only become something like a general commodity from the late 1760s when Utagawa Toyoharu (1735-1814, act. 1769-1805) starts making these his specialty.

Generally speaking, we see a clear increase in numbers, both of single prints and of picture books, but, as we will come to see, there is nothing like a constant increase and even the 1750s is still a rather quiet period, certainly when compared with the final decades of the eighteenth century. For the 1730s, we can identify 109 datable single prints, for the 1740s these would be 162, and for the 1750s the number is back at 99 – or, multiplied by 3.5 these figures are 381, 567, and 346, in other words 38, 56, or 34 single prints per year. And even if we multiply by a factor 5, this would still come down to an annual production of 54, 81, and 49 prints, or still not more than twice these figures if we would multiply by ten. Indeed, the real bustle is still to come and, probably, that shouldn’t surprise us – we are still looking at a rather recent phenomenon. This all started coming off the ground from the 1670s only, that is just a little less than a century ago. Moreover, still no Floating World in sight.

I seem to remember to have read that one of the Kyōhō period decrees on publishing, issued from VII/1721 through II/1723, concerned the format of prints, banning the real large formats (but cannot locate it at the moment). Anyway, indeed, from 1721, I cannot find any datable examples that are larger than the hosoban format that consequently becomes the one and only standard. Only from 1736, we find larger formats again, in the special cases of pillar prints and perspective prints.

[1] Masanobu was obviously quite good at self-promotion, and he might well be the originator of hashirae as he claims, but only very few of his pillar prints represent actors in role that could be dated, as will be demonstrated in the following.

[2] The painting is illustrated in Kishi Fumikazu, Edo no enkinbō. Tokyo: Keisō Shobō, 1994, ill. 1.

[3] The traditional concept is that what is far away, is seen in the top of a landscape painting, what is closer-by is seen in the centre of a painting, and what is nearby is seen in the bottom of a painting.

Going back to single print production in the early eighteenth century, it is quite helpful to have a more realistic idea of production figures for the novel phenomenon of single prints, but it may even be more important to apply the 3.5 multiplication factor to the genre of prints of actors in role. The figure of 55 sugatae (姿繪) for the 1710s – as prints of actors were called at the time, if you would ask for yakushae, nobody in those days would understand what you were talking about – yields some 190 when multiplied by 3.5, as we have also done with the totals of single prints. Similarly, the 65 known prints of actors datable to the 1720s, could well represent a total of some 225, whereas the total of 103 for the 1740s gives a number of 360. Consequently, we are looking at an annual production of some nineteen prints of actors in the ten years from 1710 through 1719 – with mind you something like thirty-six main plays staged each year in Edo’s three kabuki theatres. In the 1720s, the annual production would amount to twenty-two and a half, and in the 1740s to an annual number of thirty-six. Although this might be one for each new production, we should also realize that the emphasis in these days is still just on prints after performances of the first and eleventh months, that make out some 67% in the 1710s, and some 80% in the 1730s. And please remember that these figures are the total of all designers making prints of actors in role in the first half of the eighteenth century, whereas we would probably easily find some thirty to forty designs annually for just one single designer of the Katsukawa tradition working in the 1780s. The beginnings of Japanese prints is, undoubtedly, a very slow process that would gradually lead to a first thriving only in the 1760s. Yet, let me add immediately that the real turning point is the year 1772, as we shall see, and not the year 1765, as is often erroneously maintained. However, before we get there, we still have to see what is going on in the 1730s, the 1740s, and the 1750s.

Another interesting aspect is how these designers see themselves. In the 1700s, Torii Kiyonobu uses the signatures Wagakō, that is Japanese Painter Torii Shōbei (和画工鳥居庄兵衛), and Yamato hippon eshi, that is Maker of Japanese Paintings Torii Kiyonobu (大和筆品画師鳥居清信). In the 1710s, Torii Kiyomasu uses the signature Nihon senkenga, that is Maker of Charming Japanese Paintings Torii uji, that is from the Torii Family, Kiyomasu (日本嬋娟畫鳥居氏清倍). And Okumura Masanobu signs some of his works Tōbu Yamato eshi, that is Japanese Painter from the Eastern Capital in Musashi Province Okumura Masanobu (東武大和画師奥村政信). And prefixes such as Yamato gakō (大和画工), Nihon gakō (日本画工), and Yamato eshi (大和画師), or Nihon eshi (日本繪師), all essentially meaning Japanese painter, are also frequently used in the 1710s and 20s by painters such as Okumura Masanobu, Okumura Toshinobu (act. 1717-49), and Nishimura Shigenaga (1697?-1756, act. 1719-56). Anyway, the clear message is something like ‘We are the real Japan,’ as we are not working in the Chinese based Kanō style of painting.

And there is one single reference only to what we have come to call ‘Pictures of the Floating World, Ukiyoe,’ a print by Masanobu, dating from 1726, that he signs Nihon gakō ukiyoe ichiryū, that is Japanese Painter of the tradition of pictures of the floating world Okumura Shinmyō Masanobu (日本畫工浮世絵一流奥村親妙政信). But then we have also seen – in 1722 and again in 1724 – the publisher Komatsuya dubbing himself ‘publisher of ukiyoe and member of the guild of fiction publishers,’ (ukiyoe hanmoto esōshi toiya 浮世繪板元繪双紙問屋).

The Annals of Edo in Musashi Province, Bukō nenpyō (武江年表), 1-120, remark for the Shōtoku Period (1711-1716) that Hishikawa Moronobu dies in Shōtoku at the age of 70+. Now Kaigetsudō (Ando, real name: Genshichi) is coming up. He is said to live in Asakusa Kuramae. For the Kyōhō Period (1716-1736), it mentions (I-139) Okumura Bunkaku Masanobu (Hōgetsudō) [奥村文角政信 (芳月堂)], Nishimura Shigenaga (Senkadō) [西村重長 (仙花堂)], Torii Kiyonobu [鳥居清信], idem Kiyomasu [同清倍], Kondō Sukegorō Kiyoharu [近藤助五郎清春], and Tomikawa Ginsetsu Fusanobu [富川吟雪房信, act. 1756-81].

Summarizing:

1700s Prints: 1) Torii Kiyonobu [33]; 2) Torii Kiyomasu [6]. [Total 39]

1700s Picture books: 1) Nishikawa Sukenobu [6]; 2) Okumura Masanobu and Torii Kiyonobu [3]. [Total 23]

1710s Prints: 1) Torii Kiyomasu [51]; 2) Okumura Masanobu [15]; 3) Okumura Toshinobu [11]. [Total 77]

1710s Picture books: 1) Nishikawa Sukenobu [29]; 2) Okumura Masanobu [5]. [Total 34]

1720s Prints: 1) Okumura Masanobu [29]; 2) Okumura Toshinobu [27]. [Total 56]

1720s Picture books: 1) Nishikawa Sukenobu [9]; 2) Hasegawa Mitsunobu [4]. [Total 13]

Assessing the first three decades of the 18^th century Well then, having a closer look at three decades of print publishing next to a just a little older tradition of picture books, what can we say. Looking at numbers, we might be looking at some 55 single prints in the period from the 1670s, 1680s, and 1690s – including quite a few that are probably plates detached from albums of some kind – whereas the 1700s, 1710s, and 1720s would, in Higuchi’s count, see some 270 single prints. Interestingly, in the seventeenth century, we only find just seven prints representing kabuki actors in role, whereas these would make out almost 125 of the 270 single prints datable to the early eighteenth century. Yet, the turning point, when we see prints of actors making up the majority of single prints, would only be from the 1740s. And the fact that the vast majority of these prints of actors are based on the new year’s (44% in the 1710s, 43% in the 1720s) and the kaomise performances of the eleventh month (24% in the 1710s, 35% in the 1720s), seem to suggest that there is not yet something like a real fanatic kabuki audience as we will see that much later in the century, from the Meiwa-Anei periods. Indeed, until the 1770s, prints after the performances in the 1st and 11th month would always amount to more than 60 percent of the annual production, Only in the 1750s do we see a percentage of 11 for prints in the 3rd month, and of 10 for the 7th month. It is also quite interesting to notice that the atmosphere in the Kansai area is quite different. Even though we saw the earliest critiques of courtesans and actors being published from the 1650s in Kyoto, there is nothing like some serious output of prints of actors in role in either Kyoto or Osaka, until really much later, in the early nineteenth century.

The circumstance that, indeed, single prints prove to be a marketable commodity, becomes clear from their rapid increase in numbers from the beginning of the eighteenth century. Moreover, whereas they are naturally printed in line only, sumizurie, they are before soon hand-coloured in a conspicuous vermillion red, the so-called tane that we see from 1678 to 1723. Then, developments come rapidly, first in the form of so-called ‘lacquer prints,’ urushie (漆繪), flowering from 1717 to 1752, that is partly overlapping with the final years of the tane. And then we shall see more innovations to come in the following decades.

Probably a most unmistakable indication that the popular printing business of both picture books and single prints is really taking off, is provided by the government issuing regulations, the so-called Kyōhō Reforms. Issued in VII/1721, there is some concern about books from Kyoto and Osaka being imported into Edo, and even about new books in general, that can only be printed with special permission. What this really means, we cannot know, but the Tokugawa bakufu just loves vague formulations that could be applied whenever they saw fit. More clear or less ambiguous is the decree banning reports of current events, or news, unless they announced misemono performances or exhibitions, such as touring acrobats, circus-like performances, or the display of artworks. A slightly later decree, of XI/1722, bans works on heterodox ideas, that is contrary to accepted Confucianist, Buddhist, Shintoist writings, or medical treatises or collections of poetry. They also consider that ‘Among the works that are being published, those belonging to the kind of books of sensuality and lust, kōshokubon, should, as they are not suitable for the morals, be gradually rectified and one should abstain from them.’ And from now on, all new publications must show the real names of author and publisher in the colophon, no pseudonym. As the publishing guild is made responsible for the inspection of all new publications, we can now have access to at least the records of the Kyōhō to the Meiji periods for Osaka, whereas for Edo, only the records for 1727 to 1815 have survived. [1] Even though, many titles are simply missing.

Quite interestingly, as already remarked above, we can see some print designers even venturing titled series of prints, such as Torii Kiyonobu, who designed two series titled Eight Views of Edo (Edo hakkei 江戸八景) in the 1720s, then there is a series of Eight Views of Kanazawa (Kanazawa hakkei 金沢八景) in the 1710s-20s by an anonymous designer, and still in the 1720s a series of Eight Views in the Province of Ōmi, that is of Lake Biwa(Ōmi hakkei 近江八景) by Okumura Masanobu, and in the 1730s there is a series on the Five Annual Festivals (Gosekku 五節句) also by Masanobu, as well as an anonymous series of Eight Views of the Yoshiwara (Yoshiwara hakkei 吉原八景).

On the one hand, these confirm that single prints were such a well-established commodity by the 1720s that even titled series were marketable, or maybe that a series title would incite people to go for it and buy a group of prints rather than just one. Preferably though, these would be small series of five or eight designs only, but eventually there would also be series of twelve designs. On the other hand, these help us reconstruct the larger picture. If we know, for example, of only one design from a series of eight, we are looking at a survival rate of 12.5%, whereas five out of eight designs point to a survival rate of 62%. Applying these figures and percentages more generally, the Higuchi inventory probably only covers 30% at the most. This not only helps us realize that Kiyonobu’s oeuvre in the format of single prints might well amount to 140 or more, or 160 when we decide to use an even larger margin and multiply by 3.5 (Mutō lists 65 Kiyonobu prints of actors). Kiyomasu’s oeuvre would then be something like 210 (Mutō has 80, just prints of actors), and for Okumura Masanobu, indeed, a figure of some 390 single prints seems more likely than the mere 111 that Higuchi lists (here Mutō lists 184 prints of actors). So, how should we see the Mutō inventory, something like 50% of the total production? – I will come back to this question later.

Applying the 3.5 multiplication to the totals of single prints for the 1700s (the figures for the seventeenth century are probably corrupted anyway), we get some 65 for the 1700s, 440 for the 1710s, and 450 for the 1720s. The increase we already see here, is just confirmed in the following decades, with, for example, 660 for the 1740s. But then, we shouldn’t forget that these 660 single prints just mean an annual average of 66 prints, or just 5.5 prints being issued each month. Most likely, it cannot be denied that single prints are merely a side-product for publishers of picture books and occasional illustrated novels, and that they only begin to make out an important market much later, in the 1770s.

[1] A rather practical guide to these records is Sakamoto Muneko, Kyōhō igo – Hanmotobetsu shoseki mokuroku. Osaka: Seibundō, 1982.

Single prints in the early 18^th century Moving on now to the young and upcoming tradition of single prints, it is somewhat of a problem to exactly find their beginning. Some would want to already consider some of the handscroll-like works that Moronobu designed from the mid-1670s as the beginning of single prints, ichimaie, his Appearance of the Yoshiwara (Yoshiwara no tei よしわらの躰) of circa 1677 probably being the best known example. Yet, I would say that these were originally conceived and issued in some very different format, bound up as a scroll or some kind of album. And this means that one could probably just buy the set of twelve scenes, not picking one or two of the designs only. However, there may well have been some later issue with the various plates available individually. But that doesn’t mean that we can accept the twelve designs as a series of single prints as we have come to know that concept from the second half of the eighteenth century. It is also hard to say whether all 28 ‘prints’ that Higuchi attributes to Moronobu are indeed single prints to begin with, yes, we must probably add that only one among them bears a signature. In the case of Sugimura Jihei, we can at least find four examples where his name is somehow worked into the design, which is the traditionally accepted way to identify his works. But is this sufficient when there is still no mark of a publisher?

It is probably only with Torii Kiyonobu (1664-1729, act. 1687-1728), that we are beyond doubt dealing with a considerable number of true single prints, mostly of actors of the kabuki theatre in role. The earliest of these can be dated to 1696, the last one to 1724.[1] As for the prints of actors, these are mostly narrow upright hosoban (細判) prints, measuring 265-350 x 140-170 mm (thirty-nine in all), printed in black and white and hand-coloured with tan, a vermillion red pigment from cinnaber, and then finished with some areas in shiny black lacquer, hence known as ‘lacquer prints,’ urushie (漆繪), as well as nineteen in the various then current large formats measuring 472-580 x 203-332 mm and mostly in the somewhat simpler technique of ‘vermillion prints,’ tane (丹繪), with another seven designs in a medium format. Those that are not related to the kabuki repertoire are, among others, prints of Matsukaze, of Masatsune, dancers with flower-hats, an oiran and her trainee, a woman holding a comb, a woman playing with her cat, and one of the Korean envoys. More specifically, we know of three Kiyonobu datable prints of the 1690s, thirty-three datable to the 1700s, and ten datable to the 1710s. Or, if we follow Mutō Junko and focus just on his prints of actors, three prints are datable to the 1690s, five datable to the 1700s, thirty-seven for the 1710s, and twenty for the 1720s.[2]

Higuchi then distinguishes some other print designer working in the 1720s, who also used the signature of Torii Kiyonobu, whom he associates with seven prints of actors in role, datable to the years 1720-25, and three non-theatrical prints. Interestingly, two of these, both lacquer prints in the narrow upright format, hosoban urushie (細判漆繪), are part of what appears to be two different series of Eight Views of Edo (Edo hakkei, 江戸八景), one published by Urokogataya, the other published by Iseya. As far as we know, these would represent the earliest examples of titled series of prints, indeed, as early as the 1720s, a sure sign that the concept of single prints was by then sufficiently accepted as marketable. Moreover, also the fact that they are lacquer prints, urushie, that is featuring some colours applied by hand, and touches of shiny black lacquer to enhance certain parts, means that there was a market and that it was considered worthwhile to further invest in new kinds of single prints. Moreover, as we will see later, the publication of titled series of prints, is a very important tool in assessing the total of print production.

Within a year after Kiyonobu makes his debut in single prints of actors, in 1696, he is joined by his eldest son Torii Kiyomasu (act. 1697-1720) [? – this seems to be the current Japanese consensus, meaning that Kiyonobu was probably a father at around age 17, so wouldn’t the alternative, Kiyomasu being his younger brother, be more plausible?] who makes his debut in this field in 1697, being responsible for another five prints of actors in the 1700s, and thirty-one in the 1710s, and one dating to 1720, or, if we follow Mutō Junko, his earliest prints of actors date from 1704 only (which makes it not impossible that he was Kiyonobu’s eldest son, born shortly after he arrived at Edo), and she lists eleven designs in the 1700s and 66 in the 1710s, the last one dated to 1718. So, while Kiyonobu would be the number one designer of single prints in the 1700s (with 27 prints of actors and 6 non-theatrical designs following Higuchi), Kiyomasu takes this position in the 1710s (with 31 prints of actors and 20 of non-theatrical designs, again following Higuchi), while Mutō lists fourteen Kiyomasu prints of actors in the 1700s and another sixty-six for the 1710s, so maybe we should better consider prints of actors separately, and avoid a confrontation between Higuchi and Mutō. The second and third positions are then respectively held by newcomers Okumura Masanobu with 15 designs, and his pupil – and possibly, adopted son – Okumura Toshinobu (act. 1717-37) with 11 designs – with Kiyonobu only taking the fourth position. Anyway, these developments confirm both that there is a market for the newly developed concept of single prints, and that publishers are willing to invest in this.

For sheer numbers, we would probably have to refrain from mentioning the Kaigetsudō masters. That would, however, be a serious neglect, as Kaigetsudō Ando, Kaigetsudō Anchi (seven prints known, 1700-16), Kaigetsudō Doshin (three prints known, 1700-16), and Kaigetsudō Dohan (twelve prints known, 1710-16), are actually a very important group of painters, indeed, probably known better at the time for their paintings, but also designing prints that would reach a much larger audience, primarily of the most ravishing and almost unattainable beauties in the most fashionable attire one can imagine. Their prints are, understandably, mostly in the large upright format and can probably best be appreciated printed in black and white, sumizurie (墨摺繪), with no colours added by hand, that would only distract from their strong woodblock-printed lines. At least, that is how I like to see them, admittedly a very personal viewpoint.

In the 1720s, Okumura Masanobu is undoubtedly the most prolific designer of single prints, taking the first position with twenty-nine known designs, thirteen of actors in role (but, again, Mutō lists 49 prints of actors in the 1720s). By then, from 1720 that is, he is also active as a publisher of prints (and also books?) from his shop at the Tōri Shiochō. Okumura Toshinobu moves from his third position in the 1710s to the second position in the 1720s, with a total of twenty-seven known designs, twenty of which of actors in role. The third position is again for yet another newcomer, Nishimura Shigenaga (1697?-1756, act. 1719-54), who is responsible for twenty-two single prints.

Or, if we just focus on prints of actors with Mutō as our guide, we must conclude that the first position in the 1700s is taken by Okumura Masanobu, with twenty-seven designs, No. 2: Torii Kiyomasu with 14 designs. In the 1710s, Torii Kiyomasu takes the lead with sixty-six designs, No. 2: Torii Kiyonobu with 37 designs, No. 3: Torii Kiyomasu II with 20 designs. And in the 1720s, Okumura Toshinobu ranks first with ninety-nine designs, No. 2: Torii Kiyomasu II with 88 designs, No. 3: Okumura Masanobu with 49 designs, No. 4: Torii Kiyonobu II with 29 designs, No. 5: Torii Kiyonobu with 20 designs, the last ones dating to 1724.

[1] For details, see Japanese Popular Print Culture, 1670s-1700.

[2] Mutō Junko, Shoki ukiyoe to kabuki. Tokyo: Kasama Shoin, 2005.

Illustrated books in the early eighteenth century Torii Kiyonobu is probably the first name that comes to mind for this period, but, as far as book production in the 1700s is concerned, he is responsible for only a few erotic works. In fact, the future is in Kyoto, notably with Nishikawa Sukenobu (1671-1751, act. 1700-50). Sukenobu makes his debut with one picture book in the year 1700 (or maybe the Shin kanninki of 1699?), then an illustrated novel, in 1708, and his first erotic works from the same year. His career as a designer of picture books actually only begins seriously from 1708, holding top positions in both picture books and erotic works until his death. In Edo, there is Okumura Masanobu (1686-1764, act. 1701-54), making his debut in 1701 with a picture book, then there is an erotic work in 1703, and the illustrations to ten popular novels from 1706 to 1710. However, as he is also quite active in various other fields, as we shall see, he only finds the time to focus on books again in the 1740s.

Whereas we probably know of no single prints by Sukenobu, a Kyoto man who seems to have studied both the Kanō and the Tosa traditions of painting, from 1700 to 1740 he is absolutely the leading designer of picture books – with more than seventy titles known – as well as the most prolific designer of erotic works in all these years, with a total of 37 titles in this genre. Second in this genre is Masanobu, with five titles in the 1710s, and again second in the 1730s with just two titles – most likely, it would seem, as he is then rather concentrating on designing as well as running his publishing firm – finally ranking first in the 1740s with no less than fifteen titles. Interestingly, there are probably not more than twenty-five to thirty erotic publications in all in the 1730s and 1740s taken together – maybe as a result of the Kyōhō Reforms of XI/1722 (see below)?

Sukenobu is best-known for his numerous picture books portraying women, which were extremely popular all over Japan, possibly foremost in Edo where such elegant representations of women were absolutely unknown. Quite a few of his book-illustrations would, in the 1760s, provide a model for Suzuki Harunobu’s prints, not only copying Sukenobu’s general compositions, but sometimes even making almost literal copies after Sukenobu designs. One could almost say that Harunobu was the one who successfully translated Sukenobu’s line illustrations into ‘Brocade Prints of the Eastern Capital.’ In this way, not only the Kansai ideal of femininity is adopted in Edo, but also the quite common Tosa-tradition compositional scheme.

Sukenobu has a pupil, or at least a close follower, in Hasegawa Mitsunobu (act. 1721-63), who works in nearby Osaka, designing a number of single prints, but foremost prolific in picture books, ranking second in the 1720s with four titles, third in the 1730s with three titles, second in the 1740s with seven titles, and third in the 1750s, with ten titles. Another Sukenobu pupil is Nishikawa Suketada (1706-1762, act. 1752-62), responsible for twelve picture albums, mostly in the 1750s. Sukenobu and Suketada are only known for picture albums, both ehon and enpon, as well as some paintings, but no single prints. Anyway, Sukenobu, Mitsunobu, and Suketada ensure that the Kansai would, for several decades, and even beyond the middle of the eighteenth century, be the centre of picture books. Single prints, on the other hand, remain a pure Edo experiment from its beginning in the late 1690s, though only becoming something like an established commodity from the 1710s.

Whereas the concept of ‘a series of pictures,’ ezukushi, can be seen as Moronobu’s contribution to the format of books, Sukenobu must be credited for his creating the ‘picture book,’ ehon, almost figuring as a prefix to all his book-titles from the 1730s. Ideally, these are comprised of a brief text and a picture as an illustration of the text, actually somewhat similar to the European emblem books that flourished in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.