Appreciation of “Edo Woodblock Prints” that continue to influence the world and fan-making experience (Tokyo)

In the 15th century, the invention of the letterpress printing in Germany brought a printing revolution in Europe.

At that time, the mainstream of printing in Japan consisted of woodblock prints method in Japan featured woodblock prints. In the second half of the 19^th century (late Edo Period), the lives of ordinary people became wealthier, the performing arts culture of Edo flourished and the woodblock printing technology improved as a media.

Utamaro, Sharaku, Hokusai and Hiroshige were very popular and influenced by the European artists such as Monet, Van Gogh and Debussy.

Among them, Katsushika Hokusai’s popularity showed no signs of slowing down till today, hence he is the only Japanese to be selected in the LIFE magazine’s “100 most important achievers in the past 1000 years”.

In this workshop, you will visit a woodcut print studio founded in the late 19^th century. We will also show you the production process of Edo woodblock prints and explain how to appreciate them. Finally, you will have the opportunity to experience firsthand printmaking by using Edo woodblock printing techniques and make a fan.

Moreover, you can bring with you one of your favorite works from the popular “Thirty-six views of Mt. Fuji”, “One Hundred Famous Views of Edo” and “Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido”.