The Actor Bando Hikosaburo III as Kichisaburo in the play "Junshoku Edo Murasaki," performed at the Ichimura Theater in the first month, 1779 1779

This color woodblock print depicts the actor Bando Hikosaburo III as Kichisaburo, and was made by Torii Kiyonaga in 1779. Look closely, and you'll see that the print is made up of multiple blocks of wood, each carefully carved and inked to create the final image. Woodblock printing like this was a painstaking process, involving a team of artisans. The artist would create the initial design, which was then transferred to a woodblock by a skilled carver. Ink was then applied to the block, and paper pressed onto it to create the print. Each color required a separate block, so a single print could involve dozens of blocks and many hours of labor. The production of these prints, known as Ukiyo-e, fueled a burgeoning industry in Edo-period Japan. It catered to the tastes of a growing merchant class, who were eager to consume images of popular actors, courtesans, and scenes from everyday life. The fact that these prints were relatively inexpensive and widely available speaks to the rise of a consumer culture. Appreciating the labor and materials that went into these prints allows us to understand them as more than just pretty pictures, but as artifacts of a complex social and economic system.