Famous Products of Mountain and Sea
(Sankai meisan zukushi, 山海名産盡)
Publisher: Shin Iseya Kohei
c. 1833
This series of prints is listed as number 193 in Kuniyoshi by Basil William Robinson (Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1961). The prints in this series are each about 14 by 10 inches (36 by 25 centimeters), a size known as ôban.
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Women diving for abalone at
Ise with the “wedded rocks” of Futami
bay in the background |
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Bonito (a schooling fish of
the tuna family) from |
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Crucian carp (Carassius carassius) from |
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Frozen snow from |
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Geese from Iyo (a city in |
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Icefish from the |
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Imari ceramics from Hizen
Province (Hizenkuni Imari yaki, 肥前伊萬里焼) with a smoky kiln in the foreground |
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Noodles from |
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Whales from |
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This is a key block print. It is
an impression pulled from the first woodblock made by a carver from the
artist’s original drawing. The artist
would write instructions for each color on a separate key block print, and
the woodblock for each color was cut using one of these as a guide. Registration marks (kento) are characteristically
found on Japanese key block prints. Kento are cut
in each woodblock, so that the paper can be properly aligned on each
woodblock during printing. A kento in the shape
of a reversed ‘L’ is visible in this print’s right lower corner. In
addition to being a guide for carving the color woodblocks, the key block was
also used to apply black ink (usually) in the printing process. |
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