Youth Dancing with a Spear c. early 1790s

Katsukawa Shun'ei made this woodblock print, *Youth Dancing with a Spear*. A key thing to understand is that this wasn't drawn just once, but painstakingly carved into a series of blocks. Each block applied a different color to the paper, and then carefully aligned with the others. The design of the print reflects this process. Notice the heavy outlines that define the dancer’s figure and clothing. This emphasis on line is characteristic of woodblock printing, and the way the colors are laid down in flat, even areas, without much shading. The beauty lies in the precision of the carving and the registration of the colors, a testament to the skill of the artisans involved. Woodblock prints like this were not just about aesthetics. They were a commercial product, and the division of labor from artist to carver to printer reflects a broader system of production and consumption. In a way, prints like this democratized art, making it available to a wider audience.