The Evolution of Color in Japanese Woodblock Printing

By Jim Hingst @hingst_jim 

Originally Japanese ukiyo-e prints were simple reproductions of black and white line drawings. Then early in the eighteenth century artists started to hand color their woodblock prints. Because hand coloring was so labor intensive and time consuming, some enterprising printers found a better way. They developed the kento registration system, which allowed them to accurately align one color with another in printing. 

At first, printing using the kento method was limited to one or two colors plus black. Complementary colors, which provided contrast, were frequently used to create visual interest. Eventually, by the latter half of the 1700s artists incorporated many different colors in their designs.

Vegetable based dyes are not colorfast. Many of the prints
produced centuries ago have faded. Midnight: Mother and
Sleepy Child by Kitagawa Utamaro c.1790. Print is
in the Public Domain PD-1923.

While black ink utilized charcoal as its pigment, other colorants were vegetable based dyes, which were not so colorfast. It is impossible to know the original hue of colors printed centuries ago, because they have all faded. Nevertheless, the colors used were believed to be more subdued compared to the vibrant colors used by Western artists.

Not until the mid-nineteenth century did Japanese artists adopt bold colors. Just as the Impressionists borrowed some of the motifs and techniques used in Japanese art, so did artists, such as Hokusai and Hiroshige, borrow from the West.

Video about Hokusai and Hiroshige

As trade with Europe opened up between 1820 and 1830, Japanese artists gained access to the new and more durable pigments. One pigment that became especially popular was Prussian Blue. Hokusai’s  “Under the Wave off Kanagawa” utilized this  blue, which is a synthetic dye that German chemists had developed. Prussian Blue as well as many other manmade dyes synthesized in Europe and the United States were much more colorfast than the natural vegetable dyes, and consequently replaced these colors.

Hokusai's  “Under the Wave off Kanagawa”
 utilized Prussian Blue,   a synthetic dye that
German chemists had developed.
Print is in the Public Domain PD-1923.

Video about Hokusai's Great Wave

Although offset lithography replaced the majority of the printing beginning in the late 1800s, traditional woodblock printing in Japan experienced a revival among the fine artists between the two World Wars. A few artists in this period were unrivaled in their mastery of the shading technique, called bokashi. Printing gradations of color from a strong dark color to a soft pale hue can effectively reproduce an early morning mist or the cloak of darkness as nighttime descends. The use of the bokashi technique in landscape painting was capable of achieving eerie atmospheric effects that can only be described as surreal.

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About Jim Hingst: After fourteen years as Business Development Manager at RTape, Jim Hingst retired. He was involved in many facets of the company’s business, including marketing, sales, product development and technical service.

Hingst began his career 42 years ago in the graphic arts field creating and producing advertising and promotional materials for a large test equipment manufacturer.  Working for offset printers, large format screen printers, vinyl film manufacturers, and application tape companies, his experience included estimating, production planning, purchasing and production art, as well as sales and marketing. In his capacity as a salesman, Hingst was recognized with numerous sales achievement awards.

Drawing on his experience in production and as graphics installation subcontractor, Hingst provided the industry with practical advice, publishing more than 150 articles for  publications, such as  Signs Canada, SignCraft,  Signs of the Times, Screen Printing, Sign and Digital Graphics and  Sign Builder Illustrated. He also posted more than 400 stories on his blog (hingstssignpost.blogspot.com). In 2007 Hingst’s book, Vinyl Sign Techniques, was published.  Vinyl Sign Techniques is available at sign supply distributors and at Amazon. 

Slides of Jim's Artwork

© 2017 Jim Hingst