The Great Wave off Kanagawa, the iconic print by Hokusai, was created using the traditional Japanese woodblock printing technique known as ukiyo-e.
Creating this intricate print involved a multi-step collaborative process:
- Artist's Design: Katsushika Hokusai first drew the design on paper.
- Block Preparation: The paper design was then pasted face-down onto flat blocks of wood, typically cherry wood.
- Carving: Skilled artisans, called block cutters, carefully carved away the wood around Hokusai's lines, leaving the design raised in relief. A crucial aspect of this process was the need for multiple blocks or carved surfaces to apply different colors and details. For The Great Wave, it is most likely that four physical woodblocks were utilized. To achieve the layered complexity and various colors in the print, three of these four blocks were carved on both sides. This means a total of seven distinct carved surfaces were created from these four blocks, with each surface representing a different part of the image or a specific color layer.
- Inking and Printing: Printers applied water-based inks made from mineral and vegetable pigments to the raised areas of each carved surface. They then placed a sheet of paper onto the inked block and rubbed the back of the paper with a hand tool called a baren to transfer the ink.
- Layering: To build up the final image with its different colors and details, this process was repeated for each of the seven carved surfaces, applying one color or layer at a time. Printers used registration marks carved into the blocks to ensure that each subsequent layer of color or detail aligned perfectly with the previous ones.
This labor-intensive method, relying on the synergy between artist, carver, and printer, allowed for the production of multiple copies of the detailed, multi-colored print we recognize today.
