Kintarō Making Four Demons Draw Lots 1784

Editor: So, this is Torii Kiyonaga's *Kintarō Making Four Demons Draw Lots*. It's striking how the artist uses such vivid colors in what looks like a woodblock print. What can you tell me about this piece? Curator: Let's consider the labor and materials, then. These ukiyo-e prints, popular entertainment, were made accessible through a division of labor. An artist, like Kiyonaga, would design the image, but artisans would carve the woodblocks and print the final image. This challenges our notion of the singular artistic genius. Editor: I never thought of it that way. It really was a collaborative process, wasn't it? Curator: Exactly. And the commercial aspect is key. These prints were commodities, reflecting the social and economic context of Edo period Japan. Perhaps thinking about art this way demystifies the process a bit. Editor: Definitely! I’ll remember that.