Sails Returning to Yahashi 1763 - 1828

Utagawa Toyohiro made this woodblock print, Sails Returning to Yahashi, using a technique called Ukiyo-e. The process begins with a drawing, which is then transferred to a woodblock, usually cherry. Specialist carvers cut the image into the wood, with different blocks for each color. The materiality of this print has everything to do with its social context. Woodblock prints like this were products of intense division of labor. The publisher would commission an artist like Toyohiro to make a drawing, which would then be handed off to highly skilled woodworkers. The physicality of the wood itself, its grain and density, influence the crispness of the lines and the overall texture. Then, printers apply ink or pigment to the blocks, pressing them onto paper to create the final image. This wasn't high art, but a popular, relatively inexpensive medium, distributed widely for mass consumption. Appreciating this print means understanding its place in the economy of Edo-period Japan. The collaboration between artist, carver, and printer, along with the scale of production, is an early example of industrial creativity.