#thegreatwave

I this time done reproducing, " The Great Wave', from a image data of the original print, which I borrowed from Hagi Uragami Museum. The link:

When I first would write this article about the reproducing to introduce, I couldn't think of almost anything in particular to write since its concept and process of printmaking was basically same as the previous my reproducing of Hiroshige's One Hundred Famous View. So, I first thought I would introduce just by the photos of my printmaking scene. （Also, since I think explaining about Hokusai and the design itself has been done in many times in various media by various people, so I felt there was nothing for myself to write particularly about such those . )

However, I then came up with explaining in more detail about the concept of my previous and this time reproducing. Because there seemed little information such like that in general.

In addition, I had a sense of problem against that verifying and organizing concepts don't seem to be done properly in a project of the traditional ukiyoe reproducing. The root cause of why various contradictions, cheatings or deceptions arise in ukiyoe reproducing projects seemed to me that the concepts were not organized among the people involved, rather than issues of shortages of the materials and the skills of carver and printer nowadays.

A typical example of that is "confusing making an improved beautiful ukiyoe print by the higher skill of the traditional woodblock printmaking, with using modern improved washi and pigments than the original print, and reproducing ukiyoe print accurately as same as it was in the Edo period". Or, an example as "confusing ukiyo-e created during the Edo period and ukiyo-e reproduced during the Taisho or Showa periods."　Those are examples seen among the experts. The reason why such logical fallacy occurred from the first , despite the involvement of the first class museums, researchers, and scientists, seems to be that very little researching about ukiyoe reproduction has been done（by third parties).

（Why does carver retouch the line after all as reproducing, despite saying himself as if he would reproduce to carve the same line as the original print？ Why does printer have no interested in paper and paints of the original print？ What is the true concept or theory of their reproducing behind those ? Is it really what aims to reproduce ukiyoe print as it was in the Edo period, or reaches to the same quality print as it was ？ In terms of the skills of the printmaking, the materials, and the sense of producing, it seems that the traditional woodblock printmaking includes not a few matters established after the Meiji period, but ukiyoe reproducing was not affected by that ？

Although it looks that every carver can carve ukiyo-e and every printer can print ukiyo-e basically, but what does the "good or bad skill" for them refer to? And what does it have to do with the reproducibility of ukiyo-e?

Is there anyone who has scientifically verified or researched such those ?

For example, one master said to me, "What's the meaning of reproducing the same ukiyoe print as it was in the Edo period with reproducing the original paper and paints, , ？ I'm not interested in such that. Since reproducing are made by modern people, a long way from the Edo period, so it is natural that we should add ingenuity and improvement as modern people. Also, what everyone want from ukiyoe reproduction is as a beautiful printing , not how closely same as the original print. But, the lines should be carved to reproduce accurately since they're what directly express the artist's individuality and artistry." When I listened to him , I thought that was different matter from reproducing truly. Moreover, it seemed that he retouches the original lines in carving after all, despite saying himself should to carve accurately, since his reproducing presupposes to make a beautiful printing. If you see his working scene of tracing the line with a latest equipment to make a perfect "hanshita"（preparatory drawing for carving keyblock）, and carving carefully with a high quality cherry woodblock which he carefully prepares, or if you look at the his work history, most of you would think he tries to reproduce the original ukiyoe print accurately. But, I think it wouldn't be so, but an improved ukiyoe print in terms of the skill qualities of carving and printing , the materials of paints and paper, and the conscious of production. I wonder if a museum like the British Museum and researcher doing a project with him with a theme like reproducing truly, are doing it upon understanding such that？ Under such idea or theory, it seems determined from the beginning that such the theme will not be achieved,,,.. The problem is not such his idea itself, but is that such idea is impossible to reproduce the original ukiyoe print truly and is not seemed to recognize by those in charge.

I conceder the fundamental reasons why ukiyoe hasn't been able to be reproduced truly in the projects in the past aren't shortages of the materials or the skills of the carvers and printers nowadays, but organizing concepts isn't done properly among persons joining the project and adapting a theory unconsciously, which is decided from the beginning to be making an improved ukiyoe print.）

Anyway, I'm a guy who has nothing to do longer such any projects. But, I thought that leaving such kind of information might be meaningful to someone someday in the future as one perspective. （I had been angry and frustrated for over 10 years at such deceptions of ukiyoe reproducing. However, now I came to think that the most important matter is to first wish for people's happiness. Even if they are like who commit fraud without apology under authority. That's the most matter I learned in this my work, in the world of ukiyoe reproducing where even experts don't understand themselves well.）

Note: I in the following will explain in detail the concept of my previous and this time reproducing, but as I wrote in my previous article, those on the other hand have basically another concept that is "to make as good quality as possible in how quickly and cheaply ". Also, those made for wholesale purposes, basically for businesses. So, although I'm making my reproductions based on the concept described as the following, but there are also various constraints at the same time, which make it difficult to pursue. Also, the concept, theory or idea in the following are ones I arrived at through my own considering of how to create a realistic reproduction of ukiyo-e print, and are quite different from those of carvers and printers.

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When comparing the original and the reproduction, we could feel there is a difference in impression between the both. But, why? What makes the different impression between ?

If we look for that factor on comparing the prints, we could say the following three matters as the main factors. ・Difference in the skill qualities of carving and printing.（Roughness〜Smoothness） ・Difference in the materials of paper and paints. ・Difference in deterioration due to aging.

In order to make ukiyoe reproduction realistic (close to the original), those differences are needed to pay attention. For that, I consider the most important matter is to grasp the nuances of the original.

Explaining each point in detail in the below, but first as a premise, I have the following ideas.

"Ukiyo-e prints in the Edo period were basically cheaply and quickly being made, by hands of master and apprentices together. They are not neatly produced like today, like that skillful carver and printer carefully make a beautiful work as art with using high-quality paper and pigments."

"When we look at the original prints, we could see that although the design itself is the same, but the colors and lines often vary by each edition. However, they all have the real feel as the original. So, we could say how accurately each color and line in reproducing matches the original does not have a direct relating on whether the reproduction gets the real feel as the original."

Upon those ideas, specifically explaining the 3 points of the skill, material, and deterioration over time as the following.

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Regarding the skill, it seems that ukiyo-e in the Edo period was cheaply and quickly made by everyone together, from master to apprentices, so there are something rough parts arised on the print. Even if it was a good quality for its time as the first impression which was carefully made, we could find out something rough parts if we look closely, like a line chipping, line distortion, misregistration of the color, paint stains, paint peeling off, bending gradation, paint overflows in the fine parts, etc. The kind of beautifully carved and printed what is almost perfectly detailed from edge to edge, as is often seen in ukiyoe reproductions nowadays, would have been difficult to produce in the Edo period.

In terms of the skill, in order to achieve the reality of the original, it is important to capture and express the nuances of such those . There are not a few reproductions that are too beautifully carved and printed, resulting in an unnatural appearance, though we can look it as the pride of modern craftsmen and that isn't what should be denied.

For example, if there were two carving versions of reproducing in which "every line carved accurately from the original, but the rough parts retouched to carve to be more beautiful lines", and "some lines omitted and less accurate, but the rough parts carved roughly and the neat parts are carved neatly, capturing the nuances of the original", I think the latter carving will get a more real feel as the original. It's as the same in also printing. I think the most important matter is whether the nuances are captured and how accurately each line and color matches the original is a secondary consideration. If accurately done , that's better, but even if undone, I don't think it has a direct effect on the realism of the reproduction.

As that example, I would like to mention that the reproductions by Enji Takamizawa and Inuki Tachihara , who are renowned for making realistic reproductions, are not necessarily accurate to the originals in terms of each line and color. I have not yet seen Enji Takamizawa's reproduction directly, but from documented sources, it is considered that it was not very accurate in terms of how closely each line and color matched the original. I consider that the characteristic or feature of Takamizawa's reproducing lied in the realism of the aging process, and Tachihara's lied in the realism of the materials use of paints and paper.

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Regarding the materials of the paints and paper, many of the original ukiyo-e prints from the Edo period are printed on thin washi paper that has dust and residue remaining, and that the vertical and horizontal grain can be seen to some extent clearly when held up to the light. That is different from the high-quality sturdy Japanese paper from Echizen province, which has been generally using in the traditional ukiyoe reproducing nowadays, which the grain is difficult to be just visible in one direction.（It is said paper from Iyo province had been used for the most of ukiyo-e prints at least in the Edo period.） Many of the paints used originally were also different from the chemically synthesized and neatly refined pigments used today in ukiyoe reproducing .

Even today, washi like that of the Edo period, namely: The raw material, kozo, is treated with natural lye instead of chemicals. - Rice flour is added. - It is thin. - Some fiber debris and dust remain. - The kozo fibers are not too fine. - When held up to the light, the vertical and horizontal grain can be clearly seen to some extent. It isn't seemed that washi that meets all these criteria is available on the market, but it can be custom-made.　However, that takes cost much. Therefore, I currently choose and use one that is as similar as possible from commercially available sources within my budget.

As for paints, although I can still prepare the paints like the Edo period to some extent , but they are quite costly. So, I now use modern chemical pigments that are commonly used among the traditional printers. Theoe can be made into almost any color depending on how are mixed. （If we assume that we know what kind of paints were used in the original prints, and what their original colors were, I think it is possible to make the colors that are almost identical to those used in the Edo period by using those synthetic pigments.）

However, I think that the softness of the plant-based paints is fundamentally different from those synthetic chemical ones. But in the end, I think they are all very similar, but not the "real thing."

Since not a few of the original paints of the Edo period tend to discolor or fade over time by their nature, so if chemically synthesized pigments that are resistant to discoloration and fading are used, that ukiyoe reproduction may tend to look unnatural over time.

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Regarding deterioration over time, ukiyo-e prints from the Edo period are affected by aging to a more or less extent: discoloration of the paints, getting a tan of the paper, dirt, scratches, wormholes, missing margins,etc. I think such deterioration over time is one of the main factors that makes the difference in impression between the original and the reproduction.（But, that's just one of the factors. Old reproductions from the past show that just aging does not necessarily mean to make them become like the original.）

Personally, I think that the beauty of ukiyo-e lies in its taste of antique, aged quality, so in my current works I try to give it an aged look. I this time reproducing did that a little stronger than the previous.

Since I wouldn't like it to be diverted as a forgery of the original, I put stamp on the frontside of the print.

Available for sale in my webshop:

Crochet for home - the short noren I made for my brother has finally had a little improvement and touch-up 😂

Got some rings to hang it up properly and nicely. And finally had the inspiration on how I wanted to do the Great Wave of Kanagawa on it. 🌊

I surface slipstitched the outlines trying to recreate the shapes of the waves and Mt Fuji, and then random long/short stitches for the white foam of the waves. Have not finished the other two smaller waves 😂

Ah well, I think it looks all right so far 🤪 ehehe…