Returning Sails at Yabase Possibly 1857

Utagawa Hiroshige’s *Returning Sails at Yabase* is a woodblock print, made with a distinctly collaborative process. The artist would have made an initial drawing, which was then painstakingly carved into a woodblock by specialist artisans. Other craftspeople would have been responsible for the paper production and the mixing of the inks. The process relies on a division of labor, and we can feel that in the final image. There's a remarkable flatness, born of the printing process itself. See how the blocks of color create the scene, the subtle gradations in the sky, and the delicate rendering of the boats. These features emerge not from Hiroshige’s hand directly, but through a skillful orchestration of the printing process. The work is a testament to the skill of the artisans involved, and their expertise in the traditional techniques of woodblock printing. Paying attention to these methods helps us to understand how prints like this circulated, not just as art objects, but as products of a sophisticated workshop system. We are reminded that labor, process, and materiality are crucial in the study and appreciation of art.