An Edo woodblock print’s colours are built through repeated impressions. Tokyo’s craft account connects the carver’s colour blocks and kento registration marks with the printer’s work on the back of the paper.
Technique and structure
The account describes cherry-wood blocks and a separate colour block for each colour in the traditional process. The carver cuts kento marks after working around the design. These registration marks provide a reference for returning the sheet to position. The printer brushes water-mixed colour onto the block, places the paper face down and rubs from the back with a baren, repeating the operation with the colour blocks. Block preparation and sheet placement therefore belong to the same alignment problem; the rubbing tool alone does not explain a multicolour image.
A process, not an attribution test
The reference distinguishes the designer, carver and printer. Those roles explain the production account without authenticating an unsigned print or establishing its age, edition or publisher. This guide reproduces no artwork.
For international readers
For a print offered for sale, ask for the maker’s production and edition information. The technical vocabulary cannot establish provenance from an online photograph.
Global shipping and buying
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日本語
江戸木版画：色板と見当、紙を戻すための仕事
東京都の江戸木版画資料は、桜材の版木、色ごとの色板、彫師が刻す見当、摺師が紙の裏から使うばれんを説明しています。色を重ねるには版だけでなく紙の位置を合わせる仕事も必要です。工程の解説であり、作品の年代・真贋・来歴を判定するものではありません。