Building the Tsurugaoka Machimangū Shrine late 18th-early 19th century

Curator: Welcome. We're standing before "Building the Tsurugaoka Machimangū Shrine," a woodblock print from the late 18th or early 19th century by Kubo Shunman. Editor: There's such a sense of unhurried purpose to this. It feels...gentle, almost pastoral. Like the labour is part of a peaceful tableau rather than strenuous work. Curator: Absolutely. Consider the context: Ukiyo-e prints like these weren't considered "high art." They were produced en masse, commodities for a growing urban population depicting everyday life, landscapes, and popular entertainment. Editor: Right. The woodblock medium itself lends to this impression. Thinking of the hands that carved the blocks, applied the ink... it's tangible labor represented within a scene of labor. Beautiful! Curator: Exactly! Shunman's choice of medium is crucial here. It allowed for reproduction and dissemination, democratizing access to art. Ukiyo-e prints broke down the traditional art world’s established hierarchies. Editor: The simplicity also adds to its charm. We're seeing craftsmen diligently working. Each doing their part: swinging a hammer, precisely shaving off splinters with a blade… it's oddly calming. What I see in this piece is just honest work. The beauty within dedication. Curator: And the consumption of art— how these pieces were intended for popular enjoyment, pasted in windows as decoration, or included in albums and scrapbooks — completely shifts the conversation away from singularity and towards broader appreciation. Editor: Yes, there's something wonderful about seeing art as part of daily existence, rather than locked away behind velvet ropes, don’t you agree? I’d happily paste that by a window myself to soak up the light and day. Curator: So the act of making the artwork becomes inseparable from the social conditions of the time, production intertwined with reception. Editor: Well, now, I feel enriched and a bit humbled. Seeing art, and work, in a totally new way here.