Chats on Japanese Prints

RI

PRIM

MOR

E INV

CHROME

60-

PTE

PERIOD: TH

nvention of Polychrome

Characte

out 1660 with the appearance of the work of Moronobu. The period ends a century later when, after many experiments, the

ing minds. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Thousands of years of artistic experience and tradition lay back of these productions; and the level of ?sthetic sophistication implied in them was high. The word Primitive applies to these me

timulus of difficulty and discovery inspirits the adventurer with keener powers, these Primitives were as a group surpassed by none of their successors in force a

n later times. Despite the imperfections that necessarily attach to their works, despite their lack of external correctness, their limitations to few and generally crude materials, and their conventionalism, there clings to their work a charm such as belongs to the works neither of the most brilliant nor of the pronoun

disseminated among the millions of Yedo the product of the new and vigorous art-impulse. They were the river-stre

ancing-girls' quarter, were just elaborating a new organ for expression, namely the vulgar theatre, with plays and acting adapted to their intelligence. They had just caught hold, too, of the device of the sensational novel. Now here was an army of young samurai growing up in the neighbouring squares, who were just on the qui vive to slip out into these nests of popular fun. For the time being, freedom for both

and the greatest prints of this period are, as a rule, the single figures of actors portrayed in their r?les. But social and domestic scenes also find place here; and all the pl

eving broad decorative effects combined with vigorous movement. A certain unique simplicity and grandeur in the spacial and linear conceptions of these men gives to the whole Primitive Period a Titanic character that distinguishes it. In the best works of this time the stylistic finish of the drawing is masterful. It translates motion into sweeping caligraphic lines, and creates imposing calm by the poise and balance of severe black-and-white

great curves. In the actor-pieces no real portraiture of the actor as an individual is essayed; the artist's aim is rather to convey some sense of the dynamic power o

wn when the period opened; but it had not yet been subjected to the purposes of the artist. Confined almost exclusively to crude book illustrations, it had

ed single-sheet prints of large size, in black and white only, that served all the purposes of paintings and were capable of being reproduced without limit. These black-

n, and blue, somewhat after the manner used by the painters of the classical Kano School. In the actor-prints there began to appear, shortly after 1700, solid masses of orange-red pigment. These sheets were called tan-ye, from the tan or red lead used in them

iolet were used in brilliant combination; and their tone was heightened by painting glossy black lacquer on the black portions of the picture, a

colour-print came into existence. Masanobu is generally credited with being the inventor of the new technique. The first colours employed were green and the red known as beni; and f

first selected to accompany the original green and red. Then blue, red, and yellow were used, and other va

r large and important pieces such as pillar-prints; but the old method

chronological method must be abandoned; and each of the import

ono

nvention that is traceable in all his later work. Upon the death of his father, he came to Yedo and took up the study of painting under the masters of the Tosa and Kano Schools. Gradually, however, the Ukioye style, introduced by Matabe

AWA MO

s is twofold. He inspirited the Ukioye School with a n

there had been produced up to Moronobu's time no illustrated book that could lay claim to artistic value. The little that had been done in this field was crude artizan work without charm. Now Moronobu seized this medium and transformed it. Into his woodcuts he poured that powerful sense of design which he so notably possessed, creating real pictures of striking decorative beauty.

A PAIR O

te. Size 9 ×

at

a print as the album-sheet reproduced in Plate 1 exhibits his characteristic simplicity of sweeping line, the masterly use he makes of black and white contrasts, and the vivid force of his rendering of movement. The firm lines live; the composition is grouped to form a harmonious picture; a do

ule the scene surrounding his main figures is barely suggested by a few lines; and the figures themselves are hardly more than intense shorthand notations of a theme. But how much life

gure of a Woman in the Morse Collection, Evanston), display so fine a power of composition and so unsurpassable a mastery of rhythmic line that there can be

le to-day; they could never have been numerous, and the few that have survived the vicissitudes of almost three centuries are now in t

rs of M

Moronobu's art communica

produced designs that are in exact imitation of his father's style. His work

Masanobu, Tomofusa, Shimbei, Toshiyuki, Furuyama, Morotane, Ryujo, Hasegawa Toun, Ishikawa Riusen, Ishikawa Riushu, Wowo, Kawashima Shigenobu, Kichi,

AWA SU

eno

, whose lead he in general followed, and never attempting the massive blacks of the master's dashing brush-stroke, Sukenobu yet achieved effects that are more gracious and appealing than those of his great predecessor. Nothing could surpass the delicate harmony of line in such a design as the one re

books and albums. More than forty of these are known to-day. They contain chiefly scenes from the lives of women and figures of young girls. Most of them date from 1713 to 1750. They constitute Sukenobu's claim to rank as Moronobu's most important successor in the field of book

iod, serve to make him, of all the Primitives, perhaps the most comprehensible and pleasing to the European taste. To the Japanese connoisseur he

A YOUNG

nd-colouring of pale gr

× 6. U

at

e later impressions, lacking the original sharpness of line and intensity of tone in the blacks, are not desirable acquisition

gets

of the eighteenth century-the work which of all others stands

which of the print-makers was the original master and which were his disciples. Dr. Kurth confidently states that Kwaigetsudō Norishige, was the original master. On the other hand, Mr. Arthur Morrison has recently expressed the opinion that the original Kwaigetsudō was solely a painter, who produced no prints whatsoever. His studio name was Kwaigetsudō Ando; his personal name was Okazawa Genshichi; he was a late contemporary of Moronobu,

group of print-designers that

ō Anchi (o

Dohan (or

ō Doshu (o

Doshin (or

e single figure of a standing woman clad in flowing robes. So much for the theme; it is nothing. But the treatment consists of a storm of brush-strokes

URTESAN ARRANGI

white. Siz

gwa Kwaigetsu Ma

ng Coll

at

ness, under the great swirls of the robes. The dominance of the main curves, the vigour of the blacks, and the importunat

xcellent full-size reproductions of several of them are obtainable. With these reproductions the ordinary collector will be obliged to content hi

rst Ki

obu S

on his l

ith a mi

ss m

form shall tower

so crude

and fitfu

owd es

ure judge if his

lm Tita

in colo

upon

rk, this dream

or-portrait to a very high level, and which still later was to have the honour of claiming as its head Kiyonaga, in whom the whole art culminated. It may be co

yonobu I (

Kiyomasu

Kiyomitsu

Kiyonaga

iyomine (

Kiyofusa

l terminated with Kiyonaga,

KIYO

sign-posters; at any rate his connection with the theatre was a close one. This circumstance doubtless determined the line of the son's activity in designing. About 1700 Kiyonobu produced the first single-sheet actor-print in black and white only. From this it was only a step to the production of tan-ye, which he probably invented-actor-sheets simply but brilliantly coloured by the application of orange to certain portions of the picture. In this manner he issued both hoso-ye (t

probability to the story that he was, when he first came to Yedo, a painter of huge theatrical sign-boards or posters for the exteriors of theatres. The same manner that would be appropriate for these is found in hi

s. The brushwork is indicated with much dash and bravura, in the manner of the painter as distinct from the print-designer. A hasty gl

if it were a placque into which were to be inlaid large flat masses of a different substance. The robes are broken up into definite segments with sharp boundaries like parts of a p

tan-ye in which the whole print is nothing more than a series of great circles, brought into relat

atic r?le which he depicts, achieving an effect of tragic rage that is no less intense and impressive because of its lack of subtlety. Most of his prints suggest the shout and roar of bombast: this is precisely what they were meant to convey. But there are a few of another type, that embody the masterful power of

is improbable in view of other facts, or we must abandon the recorded date of Kiyonobu's death and regard his life as having extended well beyond the middle of the eighteenth century. Formerly this difficulty was not appreciated, and all work signed Kiyonobu was confidently attributed to the first Torii; but at present it is generally regarded as likely that there was a second Kiyonobu who produced all the two-colour prints signed with that name. Whether he produced any hand-coloured prints is uncertain. This Kiyonobu II theory has met with scep

KIYO

oma

matter scarcely worth all the words that have been wasted upon it. What is important is the well-known fact that the two kinsmen worked side by side in the same studi

1664, the theory that they were brothers is the more probable. Kiyomasu's chief work was done contemporaneously with Kiyonobu's, in black and white, tan-ye, and urushi-ye; but later he produced some prints in two colours. His subjects wer

pered Kwaigetsudō, he is no secondary figure. Nothing can surpass the vigour of linework in some of his large figure prints-great curves made with a heavily charged brush, expressing with notable simplicity the beauty of flowing drapery. His masterpiece is undoubtedly that superb figure in black and white of the

cond K

t and not by the first Torii, who died before the process was invented. Kiyonobu II is regarded by many collectors as the best representative of the two-colour technique. His figures have a delicacy and grace that is alien to the work of his two predecessors in the Torii School; and his handling of the green and rose designs of t

d Kiyonobu is by Kiyonobu II. That he did a few three-colour prints is certain. His work, like that of all these early men, is rare. It is

lowers of

is period of production began not far from 1715, and ended before the invention of two-colour printing. His prints are all tan-ye or urushi-ye, some of them slightly li

ect; and the geometrical designs of his textiles are sometimes striking. Kiyoshige's work has a strong yet graceful quality that makes him worthy of more attention than he has hitherto received

dio of Kiyonobu. He was erratic, proud, and isolated. In spite of his pressing poverty, he worked at print-designing only when it pleased him to do so, which was seldom; and though he lived until 1754, his output was small. He was a poet and an aristocrat

two prints in the Buckingham Co

actor designs, in some of which the line-work reminds one slightly of Kwaigetsudō. The influence of Kiyoma

Torii manner. A print by him dated 1746 is known, but most of his work preced

stinguished pupil of Kiyonobu I, i

Terushige, Nishikawa Terunobu, Nishikawa Omume, Fujikawa Yoshinobu, Tamura Yoshinobu, Tamura Sadanobu, Kichikawa Kats

OBU: COURTESA

hite. 10 ×

at

RA MA

ra Ma

igu

lowing fold

rald, rose

hou across

splendour i

inces grea

mbs their st

mutable

ead and po

ars that fl

ong the greatest men of the time, but around him revolve the changes in technique, full of

ool, which continued parallel with the Torii School, and whose productions are characterized b

Morrison believes this to be an error, and thinks that Masanobu was an independent artist educated in no one of the Yedo schools. Whichever account may be correct, it is at least certain that Masanobu shows in his work few traces of resemblance to the first of the Torii masters. It is equally clear that he was early and strongly influenced by the work of Moronobu, who died when Masanobu was on

ANOBU: STAN

ng of black lacquer, orange, yell

Gwako, Okumura

at

ETS

colours. An example of these appears in Plate 5. The device of heightening the effect by applying gold powder to certain portions of the design was also employed by him. A play of light that is extraordinarily fascinating often marks his combinations of colours. By about 1742 a new technical advance, the most vital in the whole history of the art, came into existence; and Masanobu is generally credited with its invention. This was the employment of two blocks beside the black key-block to print two other colours upon the paper. The importance of this step was im

he white of the paper and the black of the key-block, he produces an effect of such colour-fullness that it requires a distinct effort of the mind to convince oneself that these prints are designs in two tones only, and no

with the growth of hero-legends knows how a great name attracts to itself in popular report achievements that were really the fruit of scattered lesser men. To the list of Masanobu's probable inventions must be added the pillar-print, that remarkable type, about 4 to 6 inches wide an

: YOUNG NOBLEMAN

k, green, and r

mura Masanobu, hitsu

at

s of the period, sway in easy motion-a mixture of sweetness and distinction characterizes the poised heads, superb bodies, and ample draperies of his women, while every resource of compact and dignified design is expended upon the impressive figures of his men. A certain large geniality, a wide, sunlighted warmth of conception, runs through his work. The dramatic distortions of his Torii predecessors and contemporaries are melted in him,

ory-teller Koshi Shikoden, give him rank as the greatest of his time. The landscape backgrounds in some of his smaller prints are a delightful innovation, executed with delicate power of

tive needs of the larger prints; and frequently we find the figures clothed in a riot of striking textiles-flowers, trees, birds, ships, geometrical shapes-all mingled in the weave of the cloth, and arranged by the print-designer into a combin

and more important prints very rarely

Okumura

of the notable print-designers, and even in his short career produced work of high quality. Born about 1709, his period of production covered the y

Motonobu, and Mangetsudō may be mentioned a

ura Sh

thing is known of Shigenobu's life, and very little of his work is extant. Kurth says that Shigenobu founded the Nishimura School, and worked in the manner of the earliest Torii. Von Seidlitz believes that he did some wor

gen

on to Masanobu, Shigenaga remains a figure whose importance is hardly diminished. He must still be regarded as perhaps the most notable master of

s Senkwadō and Magosaburō as well as his own. Little is known of

URA SH

was invented, he made himself one of the most successful masters of it. Dr. Anderson reproduces, as the frontispiece of his "Japanese Wood-Engraving," a fine example of Shigenaga's work in this technique, but erroneously dates it as 1725-more than fifteen years too ear

u"; but this term can be applied with justice to only a portion of Shigenaga's work. His productions are uneven; part are indeed somewhat tame; but certain of his designs rise to a high level. His finest works, which are rare, are h

ed from him the elements of their art. Thus Shigenaga may be regarded as the most important bridge between the Primitives and the later men, passing ov

of Sh

or associates of Shigenaga may

e seen there is grace and ease, but not great strength. His work appears to have been mainly

he Spaulding Collection, may, with some hesitancy, be classed here. Mr. Gookin thin

orth Collection, London, contains a print by him representing famous theatrical ch

print, in the manner of Shigenaga's actors.

, and Ryūkwado Ichiichido Shigenob

Harunobu. Dr. Kurth thinks him a member of a Yamamoto School, which comprised also Yamamoto Denroku, Yamamoto Shigenobu, Yamamoto Shigefusa, Yam

ENTED BY THE ACTORS SANOKAWA

and three colou

awa Shuha Toyonobu ga

at

ono

lar P

ng robes, the sl

e breast, the da

wonder, the way t

hou toward

steps, so slow the

d ghostly, of limbs

spectre, hast love

toward wh

es aside with gestu

r sleep-is it fo

ht follow the path

reath be

fresh discoveries, come to be esteemed by competent observers as one of the giants of the line-one of those masters

WA TOY

end of the Primitive Period. His earliest work was in black-and-white or hand-coloured; from this he passed on to two-colour prints, a manner in which he produced many hoso-ye of flawless grace; and then into three-colour prints, in which his most important work was accomplished, and "whose classic master," as Kurth says, "he may be called." Between 1755 and 1764, the great period of the three-colour print, Toyonobu stood almost unmatched in the field. A fine example of his work appears

only by their strength. In these tall figures, where hauntingly lovely lines never degenerate into mere sweetness, there is a combination of rigour with suavity, of force with grace, that makes him forever memorable. His mas

IRL OPENING

es, with han

27

Ishikawa Shuh

r Coll

: WOMAN

black and t

27

ikawa Toyo

at

ust have been almost as common in Japan at this time as it was in Greece during the great period of Athenian art. But very different was the reaction produced upon the two races by this familiarity. In the Greeks, it encouraged an art whose prime aim was to give expression to those harmonies and hints of perfection that lie hidden in the imperfections of each individual body; so that we have from the Greeks those syntheses and idealizations of the human form which still haunt us like faint memories of the gods. But in the Japanese mind, the sense of the individual defects seems to have overpowered the impulse to creative idealism; and the people, as a race, turned from the nude figure to the more easily manipulated beauties of flowing robes and gorgeous patterns, translating

d the national barrier and came very near to s

omi

rint of

ant heads to t

er pale

e trails like th

leave

year, and its

in her

l marvel that

ides of

OR SEGAWA KIKUNOJO

and three colou

orii Kiy

at

Print o

h greyness, out of year

stic footsteps of

m that out

m some ol

t once mor

sture dwarfing the c

lm rebuking the unr

lemn foots

nd his ga

scent of h

KIYO

nd three-colour prints. I know of only one hand-coloured print by him; but as his dates denote, he lived far into the period of polychrome printing, and was a partaker in Harunobu's experiments in colour. Von Seidlitz is wrong in saying that no polychrome prints by Kiyomitsu are known; a few exist and are

nated by a circular movement that is singularly and inexplicably delightful. His colours, even while they remain only two or three in number, never lack variety and strong decorative effect. The slightn

beauty. But the invariability with which he employs this formula gives Dr. Kurth some excuse for regarding him as a monotonous and over-estimated artist. Had we only Kiyomitsu's hoso-ye prints, it might be possible to agree with Dr. Kurth; for these figures, enchanting and full of elegance as they are, certainly are dominated by a sameness of manner such as one finds in no other series of hoso-ye. But the truth of Dr. Kurth's depreciation

WOMAN WITH

d three

28

orii Kiy

WOMAN COMIN

d three

27

orii Kiy

te

ave a keen poetic charm; and though their vigour is less marked than that

sa sometimes used the great name of Kiyomitsu as a signature to their own works. Only an inexperien

ohi

Kiyonobu II; his career runs parallel with that of Kiyomitsu, and he seems frequently to imitate that artist. The period of his greatest prominence was between 1745 and 1758; his work is all in two or three colours. A delicate draughtsman, h

KIYO

ots

rious slenderness and exquisiteness; but they are somewhat lacking in vigour. After 1764 he fell under the influence of Harunobu and adopted full-colour printi

iyomitsu an

Kiyoharu, Morotada, Kiyotoshi, Torii Kiyomoto, and Torii Kiyohi

asu, and Ishikawa Toyokuma wer