A Young Samurai and Three Women 1779 - 1799

Editor: Here we have "A Young Samurai and Three Women," a color woodblock print by Katsukawa Shunzan, dating from around 1779 to 1799. It's at the Met. I'm struck by the way the landscape seems to fade into the background, almost secondary to the figures in the foreground. How do you read this print? Curator: It’s fascinating how Shunzan uses the materiality of the woodblock print to flatten the image, compressing the social space. Look closely: the process inherently demands collaboration, doesn't it? From the artist who designs the image, to the carver who translates it onto wood, to the printer who applies pigment, it embodies a collective labour. It highlights how art-making itself is fundamentally rooted in social practice. Editor: That’s a good point about the labour. Ukiyo-e prints were mass produced, weren't they? Were they considered low art or high art in their time? Curator: That distinction is crucial. Ukiyo-e, literally "pictures of the floating world," blurred those categories. While the subject matter, often actors and courtesans, placed them in popular culture, the craftsmanship demanded high skill. These prints were commodities, circulated widely and consumed, much like magazines today, demonstrating a very different system for accessing and creating art. Does that influence your perspective? Editor: Absolutely. Knowing more about the making of the print really changes how I see it. It’s not just an image; it’s an artifact of a specific time and place, tied to economics, labor and social class. Curator: Precisely. Consider the cost of dyes, the skill in carving and registration. The print becomes evidence, a material record of its own production and consumption. We can start to unpack the relationships within Japanese society simply by closely observing this piece. Editor: That is quite a novel reading. I definitely never considered prints in quite this way. I now have some very interesting avenues to explore. Thank you!