Nishiki-e full-colour woodblock print
Estampa polícroma nishiki-e
- Date
- 1765 · confidence high
- Place
- Edo (Tokyo), Japan
- Credited to
- Suzuki Harunobu and Edo printmakers
- People
- 👤 Suzuki Harunobu1725–1770
- Field
- Communication
What it is
A full-colour woodblock print using one block per colour and registration marks (kentō) to align each pass. It made possible the ukiyo-e of Hokusai and Hiroshige, which influenced European art.
China had already been printing in colour since the 17th century (Ten Bamboo Studio Manual, 1633); nishiki-e contributed precise registration and mass commercial print runs.
What it led to
- the ukiyo-e of Hokusai and Hiroshige
- Japonisme in Impressionist painting
- mass production of colour images