Second Yamashita Kinsaku as a Woman Standing in a Room 1764 - 1784

This woodblock print, made by Katsukawa Shunko in the late 18th century, depicts the actor Yamashita Kinsaku playing a female role. The processes used in making such prints were collaborative and highly skilled. The artist would create the initial design, then specialist block carvers transferred the design onto woodblocks, one for each color. Printers then applied ink to these blocks in a precise sequence, layering the colors onto paper to produce the final image. In this print, the flat planes of color and bold outlines emphasize the graphic nature of the medium. The striped kimono, the actor’s composed expression, and the carefully rendered lantern held aloft, all are made through division of labor. Each artisan would have been trained in this production technique. Considering this print through the lens of its making allows us to appreciate the social and economic context of ukiyo-e, or "pictures of the floating world." These prints were not merely individual artistic statements, but products of a complex system of workshops, skills, and market demands. Appreciating this challenges traditional distinctions between art, craft, and industry.