This is a list of terms frequently encountered in the description of ukiyo-e (浮世絵)-style Japanese woodblock prints and paintings. For a list of print sizes, see below.

  • Aizuri-e (藍摺絵); "blue picture"
  • Aka-e (赤絵); "red picture"
  • Aratame (); "examined" character found in many censor seals
  • Baren (馬連、馬楝); a tool used to rub the back of a sheet of paper to pick up ink from the block
  • Beni-e (紅絵); primitive ukiyo-e style prints, usually printed in pink[1]
  • Benizuri-e (紅刷絵, "crimson picture"); primitive ukiyo-e style prints, usually printed in pink and green
  • Bijin-ga (()(じん)()); pictures of beautiful women
  • Bokashi (printing) (ぼかし); technique of applying a gradation of ink to a moistened block to vary lightness and darkness (value) of a single colour
  • Censor seal; from 1790 until 1876 all woodblock prints had to be examined by official censors, and marked with their seals
  • Chūban (中判); a print size about 7 by 10 inches (18 cm × 25 cm)
  • Chūtanzaku (中短冊判); a print size about 14 by 5 inches (36 cm × 13 cm)
  • Edo period (江戸時代, Edo jidai); dating from 1603 to 1868, the period when Japanese society was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate
  • E-hon (絵本); "picture book"
  • Fudezaishiki (筆彩色); colouring with a paintbrush
  • Furikake (振り掛け); powdered minerals or metals sprinkled onto a print during the production process
  • Gafu (画譜); album
  • Ganso (元祖); "founder" prefix, used on a print to indicate the publisher
  • Geisha (芸者); a common subject in ukiyo-e
  • Hanga (版画); a print
  • Hanmoto (版元); a publisher
  • Hashira-e (柱絵, "pillar print"); a print size about 28 by 4.5 inches (71 cm × 11 cm)
  • Horishi (彫師); a carver of woodblocks
  • Hosoban (細判); a print size about 13 by 5 inches (33 cm × 13 cm)
  • Iro-ban (色板); a colour block
  • Jōge-e (上下絵); prints that can be viewed from either top or bottom
  • The Tales of Ise (伊勢物語, Ise monogatari); an uta monogatari, or collection of waka poems and associated narratives, dating from the Heian period
  • Ishizuri-e (石摺絵); a print that mimics a stone rubbing, with uninked images or text on a dark, usually black, background
  • Ita-bokashi (板ぼかし, "block shading"); a technique for producing gradation achieved by sanding or abrading the edges of the carving
  • Kakemono-e (掛物絵); an ōban diptych arranged one above the other (also a hanging scroll painting)
  • Kachō-ga (花鳥画); paintings of flowers and birds
  • Kakihan (書き判); the artist's tag, used on prints with (or instead of) a signature
  • Kamigata (上方); region of Japan referring to the cities of Kyoto and Osaka
  • Kappazuri (合羽摺); prints of a single colour (usually black) coloured by stenciling. Prints produced entirely by stenciling, without woodblocks, are also called kappazuri.
  • Karazuri (空摺); dry printing, embossing
  • Kasure-bori (掠れ彫り, "scratch carving"); style of woodblock carving imitating dry brushstrokes
  • Kisokaidō (中山道); one of the Five Routes of the Edo period
  • Kiwame (); "approved" character found in many censor seals
  • Kojita-e (小下絵); a rough sketch
  • Komochi-e (子持絵); prints with moveable parts
  • Mameban (豆判); a print size about 4.75 by 3.2 inches (12.1 cm × 8.1 cm), sometimes called a "toy print"
  • Mount Fuji (富士山, Fujisan); the highest mountain in Japan, a common subject
  • Musha-e (武者絵); warrior print
  • Namazu-e (鯰絵); prints depicting the Japanese mythological giant catfish, the Namazu ()
  • Nikuhitsu-ga (肉筆画); a painting in the ukiyo-e style
  • Nishiki-e (錦絵); multi-coloured woodblock printing
  • Ōban (大判); a print size about 15.5 by 10.5 inches (39 cm × 27 cm)
  • Ōkubi-e (大首絵); portrait prints, busts
  • Schools (流派): Schools of ukiyo-e artists
  • Senso-e (戰爭絵); prints depicting the Sino-Japanese and Russo-Japanese Wars
  • Shin-hanga (新版画, "New prints"); 20th century ukiyo-e revival prints
  • Shita-e (下絵); final preparatory drawing pasted onto the block for printing
  • Shikishiban (色紙判); a print size about 8 by 7 inches (20 cm × 18 cm), often used for surimono
  • Shomen-zuri (正面摺, "front-printing"); a polishing technique sometimes used to create a shiny surface on black areas in prints
  • Shunga (春画, "spring image"); erotically themed art
  • Surimono (摺物); privately commissioned prints for special occasions such as the New Year
  • Surishi (摺師); a printer
  • Tan-e (丹絵); primitive ukiyo-e style prints, usually printed in red[1]
  • Tate-e (縦絵); a print in vertical or "portrait" format
  • Tenpō Reforms (天保の改革, Tenpō no kaikaku); an array of economic policies introduced in 1842 by the Tokugawa Shogunate, precursor to Meiji Restoration
  • Tōkaidō (東海道); the most important of the Five Routes of the Edo period
  • Uchiwa-e (団扇絵); prints on paddle-shaped hand fans (uchiwa)
  • Uki-e (浮絵, "floating picture"); a picture using linear perspective
  • Ukiyo (浮世, "the floating world"); the culture of Edo-period Japan (1600–1867)
  • Urushi-e (漆絵); paintings painted with lacquer, and a printing style using ink that resembles the darkness and thickness of black lacquer
  • Waka (和歌); Japanese poetry
  • Washi (和紙); traditional Japanese paper
  • Yakusha-e (役者絵); prints of kabuki actors
  • Yoko-e (横絵); a print in horizontal or "landscape" format
  • Yokohama-e (横浜絵); prints depicting non-East Asian foreigners and scenes of Yokohama.
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The Japanese terms for vertical (portrait) and horizontal (landscape) formats for images are tate-e (縦絵) and yoko-e (横絵), respectively.

Below is a table of common Tokugawa-period print sizes. Sizes varied depending on the period, and those given are approximate they are based on the pre-printing paper sizes, and paper was often trimmed after printing.

Print sizes
name translation cm (in)
aiban (合判) intermediate 34 × 22.5 (13.4 × 8.9)
bai-ōban (倍大判) intermediate 45.7 × 34.5 (18.0 × 13.6)
chūban (中判) medium 26 × 19 (10.2 × 7.5)
hashira-e (柱絵) pillar print 73 × 12 (28.7 × 4.7)
hosoban (細判)
or hoso-e (細絵)[2]
narrow 33 × 14.5 (13.0 × 5.7)
39 × 17 (15.4 × 6.7)
kakemono-e (掛物絵) hanging scroll 76.5 × 23 (30.1 × 9.1)
nagaban (長判) long 50 × 20 (19.7 × 7.9)
ōban (大判) large 38 × 25.5 (15.0 × 10.0)
58 × 32 (23 × 13)
ō-tanzaku (大短冊判) large poem card 38 × 17 (15.0 × 6.7)
chū-tanzaku (中短冊判) medium poem card 38 × 13 (15.0 × 5.1)
surimono (摺物) a genre of woodblock print 35 × 20 (13.8 × 7.9)
12 × 9 (4.7 × 3.5) –
21 × 18 (8.3 × 7.1)

See also

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References

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Citations

  1. ^ a b "JAANUS / beni-e 紅絵". www.aisf.or.jp. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  2. ^ Harris 2011, p. 31.

Sources

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