About the Collection

To view a listing of objects without the introductory text, click here.

The Tokuno donation comprised about 200 objects. There were 44 tools used for cutting and printing the wood blocks, with 17 samples of pigments used for the colors. The tools appear to be new, so presumably they were purchased to make up the complete package. There were 21 wood blocks and 71 progressive color proofs and prints made for a triptych, three images intended to be joined for viewing. Beyond the seven watercolors showing the process, there was also a selection of additional prints and books not related to the triptych series of blocks and prints, including a sequence of 35 progressive proofs for a delicate botanical image, Nandina domestica. Most of these items have been imaged and are shown below, with a few exceptions that represent losses, inevitable in such an old collection that was moved and reinstalled several times.

Addition of the carmine color to the print

Left: The key block for printing the general outline of the design. Middle: The block for registering the carmine color to the print. Right: Prints showing the addition of the carmine color in the kimono.

In recent years several scholars have visited NMAH to view the collection, and we have learned a good deal from their research as featured in their exhibitions and publications. A 2012-2013 exhibition at the Smart Museum of the University of Chicago, Awash in Color: French and Japanese Prints, included blocks, tools, and prints lent by NMAH. It presented some parallels between developments in color printing that occurred in France and Japan from the 18th through the early 20th centuries in the context of their interactions and further developments in China and Europe.

Each color added to the print requires a seperately cut and inked plank. This gif shows the progressive prints in series as colors are added, leading to the completed triptych shown at the top of the page.

“Farmers” (Nō), a scene related to A Rustic Genji by a Fraudulent Murasaki (Nise Murasaki Inaka Genji)

Each color added to the print requires a separately cut and inked plank. This gif shows the progressive prints in series as colors are added, leading to the completed triptych shown at the top of the page.

In an essay for the Awash in Color catalogue, Andreas Marks discussed the NMAH triptych -- Inaka [Rustic] Genji -- and compared it with the only other known copy, which is located at the Japan Ukiyo-e Museum in Matsumoto. As Dr. Marks noted, the triptych was designed by Utagawa Kuniteru II and published by Daikokuya (Matsuki) Heikichi. Originally it was intended to be one of a series of four triptychs, but no other designs from the series are known. The subject, titled “Farmers” (Nō), belongs to a subgenre of ukiyo-e called Genjie (‘Genji pictures’), which depict characters and scenes based on Murasaki Shikibu’s classic novel The Tale of Genji (Genji monogatari) written about the year 1000. The NMAH triptych was published about 1870 and intended as a print series related to A Rustic Genji by a Fraudulent Murasaki (Nise Murasaki inaka Genji), a very popular 19th-century serial novel written by Ryūtei Tanehiko and published in parts from 1829 to 1842. It seems likely that by the late 1880s the publisher realized that these prints would not in fact be issued and so the blocks became available for Tokuno’s agency to send to the U.S. The three key blocks with the line images for the triptych date from 1869, and pigment analysis carried out on a surviving impression in Japan bears out this chronology. Recent research by Columbia Professor Henry Smith suggests, however, that the color blocks may have been cut later. The color wood blocks and the edition of prints made from them may have been produced specifically for the Smithsonian as the colors are quite different from the other surviving set in Japan.

Wooden brush used for removing wood shavings during block cutting for Japanese printmaking. Bristles held in place by diagonal stitches. Fragment of paper label on handle.
Description
Wooden brush used for removing wood shavings during block cutting for Japanese printmaking. Bristles held in place by diagonal stitches. Fragment of paper label on handle. Woodblock-cutter's tool used in Graphic Arts exhibit of Japanese printmaking techniques from about 1890 to 1990s. Identified as No. 2 in watercolor drawing GA 03209.02 showing the tools of the block cutter.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
GA.03210.02
accession number
22582
catalog number
03210.02
Wooden brush with very small bristles at one end. Used to brush sesame oil onto the block before cutting in Japanese printmaking. Woodblock-cutter's tool used in Graphic Arts exhibit of Japanese printmaking techniques from about 1890 to 1990s. Identified as No.
Description
Wooden brush with very small bristles at one end. Used to brush sesame oil onto the block before cutting in Japanese printmaking. Woodblock-cutter's tool used in Graphic Arts exhibit of Japanese printmaking techniques from about 1890 to 1990s. Identified as No. 23 in watercolor drawing GA 03209.02 showing the tools of the block cutter.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
GA.03210.23
accession number
22582
catalog number
03210.23
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
GA.03211.05a
accession number
22582
catalog number
03211.05a
Brush with wooden handle used for adding color to wood block in Japanese printmaking. Bristles attached on narrow end with three lines of stitches. Some red color residue remains in brush. Twine threaded through hole on opposite end of brush for hanging on rack of GA*03211.01.
Description
Brush with wooden handle used for adding color to wood block in Japanese printmaking. Bristles attached on narrow end with three lines of stitches. Some red color residue remains in brush. Twine threaded through hole on opposite end of brush for hanging on rack of GA*03211.01. See illustrations GA*03209.03-.04.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
GA.03211.05b
accession number
22582
catalog number
03211.05b
Brush with bamboo handle used for adding color to wood block in Japanese printmaking. Similar brushes also were used for textile printing. This brush closely resembles brush No.
Description
Brush with bamboo handle used for adding color to wood block in Japanese printmaking. Similar brushes also were used for textile printing. This brush closely resembles brush No. 5 in illustrations GA.03209.03-.04, but it is possibly a later addition to the printmaking exhibition. One row of stitching with straight handle.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
GA.03211.05c
accession number
22582
catalog number
03211.05c
Brush with wooden handle used for adding color to wood block in Japanese printmaking. Bristles extend across full width of brush,held in place with three lines of stitches. Twine threaded through hole for hanging on rack of GA.03211.01.
Description
Brush with wooden handle used for adding color to wood block in Japanese printmaking. Bristles extend across full width of brush,held in place with three lines of stitches. Twine threaded through hole for hanging on rack of GA.03211.01. See illustrations GA.03209.03-.04.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
GA.03211.06
accession number
22582
catalog number
03211.06
Brush with wooden handle used for adding color to wood block in Japanese printmaking. Bristles extend across full width of brush, held in place with four lines of stitches. Twine threaded through hole for hanging on rack of GA.03211.01.
Description
Brush with wooden handle used for adding color to wood block in Japanese printmaking. Bristles extend across full width of brush, held in place with four lines of stitches. Twine threaded through hole for hanging on rack of GA.03211.01. See illustrations GA.03209.03-.04.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
GA.03211.07
accession number
22582
catalog number
03211.07
Flat brush with wooden handle used for wetting paper in Japanese printmaking. Bristles held in place with two lines of stitching. See illustrations GA.03209.03-.04.Currently not on view
Description
Flat brush with wooden handle used for wetting paper in Japanese printmaking. Bristles held in place with two lines of stitching. See illustrations GA.03209.03-.04.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
GA.03211.08
accession number
22582
catalog number
03211.08
Small brush with uneven bristles wrapped and stitched around a wooden stick handle. Used for mixing colors in Japanese printmaking. (set of 3) See illustrations GA*03209.03-.04.Currently not on view
Description
Small brush with uneven bristles wrapped and stitched around a wooden stick handle. Used for mixing colors in Japanese printmaking. (set of 3) See illustrations GA*03209.03-.04.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
GA.03211.14
accession number
22582
catalog number
03211.14

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