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.

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[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.

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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.

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[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.

Just to give you some idea of how important a book illustrator Hishikawa Moronobu was, please enjoy the following inventory. And also, please note that quite a few are signed ‘Japanese painter,’ Yamato eshi (大和繪師) – added after the references. Of special interest is the wording ‘ezukushi‘ in the books’ titles, a sure indication that the work was conceived as ‘a collection of pictures,’ not a set of illustrations to a text of some kind. I may well be tempted to add a few more references at some later moment.

Books illustrated by Hishikawa Moronobu[1]

Ehon, that is picture books dating to the 1670s, number a total of 6, Enpon, that is works of erotic content, numbering 12:

Buke hyakunin isshu (武家百人一首) 1 vol., 1672 [M 1; 1295]

Wakoku bijin asobi (倭国美人あそび) 1 vol., 1673 [S 213]

Ise Genji shokushi (伊勢源氏色紙) 1 vol., 1674 [S 80]

Wakashu asobi kyara no en (若衆遊伽羅之緑) 1 vol., 1675 [S 213]

Kyara makura (伽羅枕) 1 vol., 1676 [S 130]

Genji kyasha makura (源氏きやしや枕) 1 vol., 1676 [S 130]

Edo suzume (江戸雀) 12 vols., 1677 [M –; 1296]

Koi no shina makura (戀の品枕) 1 vol., 1677 [S 134]

Komurasaki (小むらさき) 1 vol., 1677 [S 134]

Hyakunin isshu zōsanshō (百人一首像讃抄) 3 vols., I/1678 [M 2; 1297]

Yoshiwara koi no michibiki (吉原戀の道引) 1 vol., 1678 [M 3; 1298]

Kokon yakusha monogatari (古今役者物かたり) 1 vol., 1678 [M 4; 1299]

Ehon zassho makura (繪本雜書枕) 1 vol., 1678 [S 93]

Koi no iki utsushi (戀の息うつし) 1 vol., 1678 [S 134]

Wagō dōjin (和合同塵) 1 vol., 1678 [S 213]

Ise monogatari kashiragakishō (伊勢物語頭書抄) 3 vols., 1679 [M –; 1300]

Hana no katarai (枕華の語ひ) 12 ōban, 1679 [S 182]

Koi no mutsugoto shijūhatte (戀のむつごと四十八手) 1 vol., 1679 [S 135]

In the 1680s, we see a total of 34 ehon or picture books, and 19 enpon or erotic works:

Ningen bureikō (人間不礼考) 1 vol., 1680 [M 5; 1301; S 176] 大和繪師

Ogurayama hyakunin isshu (小倉山百人一首) 1 vol., 1680 [M 6; 1302]

Yamato shinō ezukushi (大和侍農) 1 vol., V/1680 [M 7; 1303] 大和繪師

Yamato ezukushi (大和繪つくし) 1 vol., V/1680 [M 8; 1304] 大和繪師

Yamato mushae (大和武者繪) 1 vol., 1680 [M 9; 1305] 大和繪師

Tsukinami no asobi (月次のあそび) 1 vol., VII/1680 [M 10; 1306] 日本繪師

Nenjū gyōji no zu (年中行事之図) 1 vol., 1680 [M –; 1308]

Kōshoku itoyanagi (好色糸柳) 2 vols., 1680 [S 135]

Yamato yorozu ezukushi (大和万繪つくし) 1 vol., VII/1681 [M 11; 1309]

Ukiyo hyakunin onnae (浮世百人女繪) 1 vol., Q/1681 [M 12; 1310]

Sasage no emakura (さゝげの繪枕) 1 vol., 1681 [S 148]

Toko no okimono (床の置物) 1 vol., 1681 [S 171]

Iwaki ezukushi (岩木繪つくし) 1 vol., I/1682 [M 13; 1311] 大和繪師

Ukiyo zoku ezukushi (浮世続繪尽) 1 vol., I/1682 [M 14; 1312] 大和繪師

Onna kasen shinshō (女歌仙新抄) 1 vol., I/1682 [M 15; 1313]

Saigyō waka shugyō (西行和歌修行) 3 vols., I/1682 [M 16; 1314] 大和繪師

Byōbu kakemono ezukushi (屏風掛物繪尽) 1 vol., I/1701 [M 17; 1315]

Chiyo no tomozuru (千代の友つる) 1 vol., I/1682 [M 18; 1316]

[Tōfū hana no omokage (当風花のおもかけ) 1 vol., 16XX [M –; 1342]]

Konokorokusa (このころくさ) 2 vols., Q/1682 [M 19; 1317]

Tōeizan meisho (東叡山名所) 1 vol., II/1682 [M 20; 1318]

Kosode no sugatami (小袖のすがたみ) 1 vol., III/1682 [M 21; 1319]

Wakoku meisho kagami (和国名所鑑) 1 vol., IV/1682 [M 22; 1320]

Uchiwa ezukushi (団扇繪づくし) 1 vol., V/1682 [M 23; 1321] 大和繪師

Yamato no ōyose (大和のおほよせ) 1 vol., VII/1682 [M 24; 1322]

Ukiyo koikusa (浮世戀くさ) 1 vol., 1682 [S 88]

Makurae taizen (まくら繪大ぜん) 3 vols., 1682 [S 302]

Kaboku no makura (花木のまくら) 1 vol., 1682 [S 127]

Bijin ezukushi (美人繪ずくし) 3 vols., V/1683 [M 25; 1323] 大和繪師

Kachō ezukushi (花鳥繪ずくし) 1 vol., V/1683 [M 26; 1324]

Koi no minakami (戀のみなかみ) 1 vol., 1683 [M 27; 1325]

Osana najimi (於佐名那志美) 2 vols., 1683 [S 120]

Koi no tanoshimi (戀の楽) 2 vols., 1683 [S 134]

Koi no hana murasaki (戀の花むらさき) 2 vols., 1683 [S 134]

Tōsei sōryū hinagata (当世早流雛形) 1 vol., I/1684 [M 28; 1326]

Tōsei hina ezukushi (当風品繪ずくし) 1 vol., 1684 [M –; 1327]

Hana no kokakure (花の小かくれ) 1 vol., 1684 [S 182]

Fūryū setchōzu (風流絶暢図) 1 vol., early 1680s [S 196]

Chikuyō shijitsu (竹夭氏日) 1 vol., early 1680s [S 167]

Narihira honcho no shinobi (業平本朝のしのび) 2 vols., early 1680s [S 172]

Kokon bushidō ezukushi (古今武士道繪ずくし) 1 vol., I/1685 [M 29; 1328] 大和繪師

Sanza nasake no kayoiji (山三情の通路) 1 vol., I/1685 [M 30; 1329] 大和繪師

Wakoku shoshoku ezukushi (和国諸職繪つくし) 4 vols., II/1685 [M 31; 1330]

Genji Yamato ekagami (源氏大和繪鏡) 2 vols., IV/1685 [M 32; 1331] 大和繪師

Imayō makura byōbu (今様吉原枕) 1 vol., 1685 [S 80]

Imayō Yoshiwara makura (今様枕屏風) 1 vol., 1685 [S 80]

Yamatoe kongen (大和繪根元) 4 vols., I/1686 [M 33; 1332] 大和畫工

Kōshoku sewa ezukushi (好色世話繪ずくし) 2 vols., 1686 [M –; 1333]

Shinpan – Kōshoku hana no sakazuki (新枕―好色花の盃) 2 vols., 1687 [S 137]

Makura ezukushi (枕繪ずくし) 3 vols., 1687 [S 202]

Nasake no uwamori (情のうわもり) 3 vols., 1687 [S 172]

Igyō senninzukushi (異形仙人つくし) 3 vols., I/1689 [M 34; 1335] 大和繪師

Miyagino (みやぎの) 3 vols., late 1680s [M –; 1334]

And, finally, in the 1690s, we can identify 7 ehon, or picture books, and only 2 enpon, or works of erotic content:

Musha sakura (武者さくら) 1 vol., 1690 [M 35; 1336]

Tōkaidō bunken ezu (東海道分間繪図) 5 vols., 1690 [M ; 1337]

Yokei tsukuri niwa no zu (余景作り庭の図) 1 vol., V/1691 [M 36; 1307] 日本畫師

Wake no kongen (わけのこんげん) 1 vol., 1691 [S 213]

Kedamono ehonzukushi (獣繪本つくし) 1 vol., 1694 [M 37; 1338]

Wakoku hyakujo (和国百女) 1 vol., I/1695 [M 38; 1339]

Sugatae hyakunin isshu (姿繪百人一首) 3 vols., 1695 [M –; 1340]

Shinkan – Goreikō (新刊ー好色五れいかう) 2 vols., 1695 [S 136]

Aruhito no tazune (或人の尋) 2 vols., 1698 [M –; 1341]

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[1] The M numbering refers to Matsudaira Susumu, Moronobu Sukenobu ehon shoshi (Nihon shoshigaku taikei, 57). Musashimura: Seishōdō Shoten, 1988; S numbers refer to Shirakura Yoshihiko, Eiri shunga ehon mokuroku. Tokyo: Heibonsha, 2007. Just numbers refer to ‘Ehon, etehon, gafu mokuroku,’ in Ōta Masako (Ed.), Edo no shuppan bunka kara hajimatta imeiji kakumei. Kanazawa: Kanazawa Geijutsugaku Kenkyūkai, 2007.   

From 1689 – as the earliest confirmed date – Moronobu also started designing single prints. Even though we  are now used to take for granted that there is something like Japanese prints, either single printed images, or diptychs and triptychs, or so, or prints belonging to a titled series of prints, this must have been some risky enterprise to begin with. We should not forget that this was very different in the late 17^th century when there was no ‘print-buying’ audience at all. For sure, there are many many images of a religious nature, mostly sold at temples, and maybe popular images of Shōki, the demon queller, that one would paste at the entrance of one’s house to keep the demons out, or images of the Treasure Ship, Takarabune, that one would put under one’s pillow on New Year’s eve, so you might have an auspicious dream of Mount Fuji, a falcon, and eggplants. Also, there were many broadsheets, kawaraban, reporting anything mezurashii, unusual, news, in short, of scandals, killings, earthquakes even, anyway news that the bakufu wanted to keep out of the ‘press,’ explicitly forbidden in the city of Edo as early as 1673, so we may conclude that they did exist. But making a print of a group of dancing actors in 1689 and trying to sell it, with no clearly defined market that would be willing to buy such an image, was no doubt quite some risky investment. Alas, we don’t know who this daring publisher was. But maybe, he was inspired by the success of the sale of the individual plates of the Appearance of the Yoshiwara (Yoshiwara no tei よしわらの躰), that was probably published originally in the format of a set of plates in a wrapper, or maybe as a scroll, or bound up in some way, that were offered for sale as twelve single plates in the late 1680s by the publishing firm of Yamagataya Ichirōemon of Tōri Aburachō, Edo.

An additional problem with many so-called ‘prints’ by Moronobu, is that it is often difficult to tell whether these were, indeed, issued in the format of single prints to begin with, or whether we are actually looking at a plate that was detached from some album. In later times, we would be assisted by a signature and the mark of some publisher – that would normally be absent in the case of bookplates. But in the early days, the absence of some signature doesn’t really mean anything. It was simply quite exceptional to add a signature, be it on lacquer works of all kinds, on pottery, or even on paintings, both those sold by the local painters, eshi, and the ones made by established painters receiving commissions to make works that would be mounted as folding screens. Essentially, all of these ‘works of art’ – as we now see them – were made by craftsmen, the notion of works of art being something to start dreaming of more than two centuries later. Apart from the presence of a signature and a publisher’s mark, it would be best to look for vertical formats that would not be plates detached from some album – and there go all 28 ‘prints’ listed in Higuchi, all being horizontal sheets.

As for Moronobu designing single prints, there might be two in the 1670s, twenty-three in the 1780s, and three in the 1790s, indeed, provided they were actually designed and issued as single prints. As for his contemporary Sugimura Jihei, we know of one actor print datable to 1678, four single prints for the 1680s, and three prints that we cannot date.[1] Then, there are ten more designs datable to the 1680 that might also be attributed to Jihei, and six more that are more difficult to date. Although Torii Kiyonobu started illustrating books as early as 1687, his earliest single prints seem to date from 1696. This at least is a vertical composition with a publisher’s mark, making him possibly the first to design single prints if we want to be on the safe side.[2] He would continue to design such single prints of actors of the popular kabuki theatre in role, dating from the 1700s and 1710s, to be discussed into more detail in the next section.

There remain still many questions to be answered related to the first couple of decades of popular printing. For example, are the publishers of single prints the same as the publishers of picture books (I hope to come back to that later)? And what is there really beyond the picture books with plates by Moronobu, Sugimura Jihei, Moroshige, Kiyonobu, and Tomonobu? And also, we shouldn’t forget that paintings may have been much more important than these picture books, at least we know quite some names rather from paintings than from picture books or single prints. And don’t forget, if you don’t work/produce, you have nothing to eat, this is not a vocation, it is work so you can live. Also, we must realize that these picture books were probably aimed at a real well-to-do part of the Edo population – and this was probably not very different in Kyoto with the books illustrated by Yoshida Hanbei.

What is really interesting – and I’ll come back to this again later on – Moronobu signed quite a number of his books Yamato eshi, that is Japanese painter (1680s) and also Nihon eshi, also Japanese painter (1690s), probably so as to make it clear that he considered himself working in a Japanese style of painting, not the Chinese-influenced Kanō manner of painting. Also Sugimura Jihei uses the Yamato eshi as a prefix to his signature (1680s). Interestingly, Yoshida Hanbei uses Rakuyō eshi, Kyoto painter (1686).

Just looking back at the Genroku period, it must be said that the Chronology of Edo in Musashi Province (Bukō nenpyō [武江年表], I-105), mentions Hishikawa Kichibei (橘町菱川吉兵衛) [i.e. Hishikawa Moronobu (菱川師宣)] of Tachibanachō, the same (i.e. Hishikawa 菱川) Kichiemon (同吉左衛門) [died 15/II/1662], Furuyama Tarōbei (古山太郎兵衛) [i.e. Hishikawa Moroshige 菱川師重], Ishikawa Izaemon (石川伊左衛門) [aka Ishikawa Tomonobu?), Sugimura Jihei (杉村治兵衛), Ishikawa Tomonobu (石川流宣), Torii Kiyonobu (鳥居清信, lived 1664-1729), and Hishikawa Sakunojō (菱川作之丞) [i.e. Moronaga 師長]. Moreover, it also makes mention of Miyagawa Chōshun (宮川長春) coming up around the Genroku-Hōei periods (1688-1710; lived 1683-1753).

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[1] This is a print of Tamagawa Sennojō as Izutsu and Suzuki Sanshirō as Narihira, after a performance in the Ichimura Theatre (KN 1:132). See Higuchi 1.

[2] The print portrays the actor Sodezaki Karyū as Tokoyo no mae, in the play Shitennō yome kagami, performed at the Morita Theatre in XI/1696 (KN 1:203), published by Shichirobei.

In relation to Japanese prints, the three most misconstrued terms are the Primitives, the Decadents, and Ukiyoe. The Primitives refers to all print designers who happened to work prior to full-colour printing, first practiced from 1765 and becoming the standard from 1772; the Decadents refers to all print designers working in the nineteenth century, with the two exceptions of Hokusai and Hiroshige; and the third, Ukiyoe, has recently become a more and more common term to denominate all Japanese prints of whatever period and of whatever subject. The use of the words Primitives and Decadents is probably over by now, at least, that is what I hope. Anyway, even the Japanese have begun to recognize Kuniyoshi and Kunisada, maybe not really as designers of merit, but at least as designers of prints who deserve to be taken seriously. Although, in the case of Kuniyoshi, it is hard to say whether he is deservedly appreciated as one of the greatest talents of the nineteenth century, or just as a designer of prints of ghosts and torture scenes, or maybe as a supplier of designs for body tattoos, or for his prints of cats, or for his humour. These, at least, are the most common subjects for recent Japanese publications on Japanese prints, and I guess that publishers just hope that these may appeal to a younger audience. But maybe the most popular subject in present-day Japan may well be erotic prints and bookplates. And, indeed, for many Japanese, ukiyoe was always sort of synonymous with shunga, as became clear from the understanding nods in my conversations with taxi drivers and cooks when I sat at the counter in restaurants.

Although I will not contest the existence of something like a Floating World, the Ukiyo, probably best defined, or re-defined if you like, by Asai Ryōi (d. 1691) in his Ukiyo monogatari (浮世物語, 1666) as follows:

“/…/ living only for the moment, savouring the moon, the snow, the cherry blossoms, and the maple leaves, singing songs, drinking sake, and diverting oneself just in floating, unconcerned by the prospect of imminent poverty, buoyant and carefree, like a gourd carried along with the river current: this is what we call ukiyo,”

the earliest work that can tentatively be associated with Asai’s definition of this ‘floating world,’ ukiyo, is probably the so-called Hikone screen, an anonymous picture of a man talking to a courtesan and a party with three musicians making music, and two people playing sugoroku, dating to c.1624-44. Also Iwasa Matabei (岩佐又兵衛 1578-1650) is often mentioned as the founder of something like an ukiyoe tradition, even though we cannot really identify any painting by him that would meet the criteria. But almost by nature, screen paintings would not work to spread some notion or launch some new direction in imagery or handling of a theme.

Anyway, something that seems to be foreboding what this floating world might be, probably has its origin in Kyoto, with illustrated jōruri ballad books dating from as early as 1625, and becoming more common from the 1630s. Even before the official establishment of the Kyoto entertainment centre of the Shimabara, in 1640, there is already a lively tradition of courtesans’ critiques, pretty shamelessly discussing the qualities of various courtesans. From the 1650s, we also find simple kanazōshi novels with illustrations in Kyoto. We shouldn’t probably forget that Kyoto had been built and developed as a city from 794, and that Edo was, for sure, a rapidly growing city, but it would probably only be from about the last decade of the seventeenth century, the Genroku period (1688-1704) to be more precise, that we can see something like the beginnings of a typical Edo popular culture.

The earliest illustrated works published in Edo seem to date from 1657, when the city recovers from the devastating Meireki Fire of I/1657. From the late 1650s, we also find jōruri ballad books and simple kanazōshi novels published in Edo, and in 1660 even two critiques of courtesans, the Mirror of the Yoshiwara (Yoshiwara kagami 吉原かがみ) and the Yoshiwara Pillow (Yoshiwara makura 吉原枕). Indeed, from the 1660s, there is a small group of people publishing such popular works that discuss the qualities of courtesans and of actors of the kabuki theatre, or provide the texts of jōruri ballads and of simple novels, among them Urokogataya, Yamamoto, Yamagataya, and Masuya.

Looking for something that could be seen as a harbinger of something that might look like that floating world, we would probably have to focus on book illustrations or picture books to begin with, which brings us, indeed, to Hishikawa Moronobu (菱川師宣 1618-1694, act. 1659-94), who illustrates and designs eighteen books in the 1670s, another 53 in the 1680s, and still about nine in the 1690s. Please note that 33 of these 80 publications are works of an erotic nature, enpon, a part of his artistic oeuvre totally ignored (especially in Japan) until recently. This makes him, indeed, the number one illustrator of books, both novels and picture books, ehon, as well as erotic works, in the 1670s, in the 1680s, and, erotic works excepted, in the 1690s. He is soon, from 1680, joined by Yoshida Hanbei (吉田半兵衛 act. 1680-93, in the Kansai) – whom we can identify with seventeen books, all but six being erotic works – and from 1681, by Sugimura Jihei (杉村治兵衛 act. 1681-97) – for whom we can also identify fourteen books, and again, all but two erotic works.

The last designer to join these three early masters is Torii Kiyonobu (鳥居清信 1664-1729, act. 1687-1728), who actually moved from Osaka to Edo with his father in 1687, who had been working there painting the large billboards displayed outside the theatres, focusing on some of the dramatic moments in the play that was currently being staged. We can identify twelve illustrated books by him, four of which are popular novels, three are picture books dating from the 1690s, and five (only, I would almost add) are erotic works, mostly dating from the 1700s.

Some time ago, I was reading a general history of Japanese prints that was at times interesting as it contained both information that I was not familiar with, and viewpoints that had never occurred to me. And yet, I was sometimes also really appalled by the oversimplification of the phenomenon of Japanese prints. And so, I began to take notes that might come in handy when I, sometime somewhere in the future, would find the time to sit down and pen down the ideas that I have developed over time and what I have come to consider as important.

In general, I can say that I am more and more convinced that it is due time to

◊ Pay attention to the often close interrelation between Edo and the Kansai, that is the cities of Osaka and Kyoto;

◊ Consider single-prints as just one format that cannot be seen separate from both illustrated novels of various kinds, collections of kyōka poetry (kyōkabon), and picture books (ehon);

◊ Also take into consideration books of erotic content (enpon) that were, until recently, totally ignored in Japanese discussions of Edo-period printing, resulting in a highly corrupted art history (but also in Western literature on Japanese prints, there isn’t yet a rewritten Utamaro monograph, taking into account that close to one third of his picture books is of erotic content);

◊ Avoid terms such as ukiyoe, bijinga, yakushae, and quite some other Meiji/Taishō constructs as well;

◊ Otherwise, I will try to base my discussion of Edo-period printing culture as much as possible on factual information, that is facts and figures.

I have always considered Binyon & Sexton the best discussion of the theme. It is clearly arranged by the Japanese periods, nengō, which sometimes makes sense, but at times, it is also totally arbitrary. But I immediately admit that my own subdivision, into periods of ten years, is equally arbitrary. Anyway, I’ll try to make it work by treating the decades more loosely when a certain phenomenon or new developments make such necessary or desirable. Sometimes, I will also break up a discussion of, let’s say the 1760s, into two, three or four, or more parts.

Coming back to the Binyon & Sexton handbook, this is really a quite impressive accomplishment, considering that Laurence Binyon (1869-1943) was primarily a poet, working at various departments of the British Museum, publishing many works on English arts, as well as on Asian, Japanese, and Persian arts. His four-volume catalogue of the museum’s English drawings came out in the years 1898-1907. From 1913, he was appointed Keeper of the Sub-Department of Oriental Prints and Drawings and only three years later he published the museum’s Catalogue of Japanese & Chinese Woodcuts (1916), which must have been at the base of the Binyon & Sexton handbook. Actually, this Japanese Colour Prints of 1923 came out in between his Court Painters of the Grand Moguls (1921), Drawings and Engravings of William Blake (1922), and Arthur: A Tragedy (1923). Of J.J. O’Brien Sexton we know only very little. We found him to be John Joseph O’Brien Sexton who lived 1866-1941. Otherwise, he is known from some series of articles in both the Studio and the Burlington Magazine in the 1910s.

Part One, Japanese Popular Print Culture – A Critical Review – 1670s, will be published this coming weekend.