TOOLS Knives: Illustrated are the five most useful cutting knives (fig. 1). They are known as: marunomi (round gouge); sankakunomi (V-gouge); aisuki (flat scraper); kentonomi (chisel for register marks); and to (knife). Good quality knives have removable blades that extend nearly the whole length of the handle. The handle is split and grooved to hold the long blade in place. A removable brass sleeve fits over the front of the handle to hold the blade and handle tightly together. As the blade wears down, it may be extended the correct amount from the handle. The narrow knives are about 12 cm long, including handle, while the wider ones are about 20 cm long and are one-piece construction. Whether or not high quality knives are used, it is important to keep the blades sharp while working on a block. Good knives made specifically for wood-block cutting are easily found in Japan but you will have to search for an importer. (One good supplier in the U.S. is Robert McClain, Japanese Print & Supplies, 2380 Spring Blvd., Eugene, OR 97403; (503) 343-1980.) Brushes: The special brushes used for block printing are made of horsehair (fig. 2). The function of the wide brushes is, like a roller, to spread the color evenly over the block. A separate brush is needed for each color. Small brushes have bamboo or wooden handles 10-12 cm long and the larger brushes are shaped like a shoe brush. The rather stiff hairs may leave marks that show on the print, so the bristles are softened and pointed by lightly singeing them over a hot-plate and then rubbing on a sharkskin or coarse sandpaper. Baren: The baren is a clever tool used to take the impressions on the paper (fig. 3). It is composed of three parts: the bamboo sheath coil, the laminated paper backing, and the bamboo sheath covering. A cord of tightly braided thin strips of bamboo sheath is formed into a 12-14 cm diameter coil and backed with a disk made of a laminate of 50 or more thin sheets of kozo paper. The disk is lacquered to give it additional stiffness. The disk is not flat but slightly convex so that the pressure at the center is more than at the outer edge. A bamboo sheath covering, which must be replaced occasionally, is wrapped tightly around the coil and backing. The braided coil creates a surface that has many raised points. These pressure points work effectively to pick up the color from the block and to print a wide area in one sweep. A good "true" bamboo cord baren is recommended for serious work. They are becoming harder to obtain and a few printmakers have experimented with homemade barens using a variety of material to try to duplicate the character of the "true" baren. Some have created their own "special effects" barens using wire coils and plastics. Start out with the best available from the local art supply. MATERIALS Pigments: Water-soluble, high-grade, powdered pigments are used in Japanese traditional wood-block printing. Because the pigments are water-based, they are readily absorbed by the paper, giving the finished print a more subtle, dyed-in effect, rather than the surface look that comes from oil-based inks. Some pigments, particularly reds, do not mix easily with water. They must be ground first in a small amount of methyl alcohol. Tube watercolors can be substituted for the powder pigments. The best black is called sumi. It is lamp black obtained by burning natane abura (rape seed oil). The soot is mixed with animal hide glue and formed into sticks. Worn down or broken sumi sticks are kept in water for several days until they become soft enough to be crushed into a paste. The paste is further thinned to a thick juice called bokuju. Do not use the bokuju liquid sold in plastic containers. It contains a preservative which causes foaming when it is spread on the printing block. Chinese- or Japanese-made sumi sticks should be available in art supply or oriental import stores. Gofun is the traditional white pigment. It is obtained by pulverizing and firing sea shells. Gofun is a brilliant white that will not fade. Wood: Sakura (mountain cherry, Prunus jamasakura) is the wood that was used traditionally. It is difficult to obtain these days, is rarely available in boards wider than 30 cm, and is quite difficult to cut. However, for small blocks with fine details it is recommended, since there is less chance of lines breaking and the block will last for thousands of impressions. Other suitable woods are ho (silver magnolia, Magnolia hypoleuca) and katsura (Japanese judas tree, Cercidiphyllum Japonicum). Both of these have a uniform texture and a straight grain. Blocks are always cut with the grain. For large blocks, a smooth-surfaced plywood, like birch, can be used. When using plywood, be sure that the image is not cut through an area which has a joined surface. The joint may be hardly visible on the surface, but after several impressions it is possible that a dark band will begin to appear. This is from the tape running along the joint on the underside of the top ply. Paper: Pure kozo paper should be selected for wood-block printing with the baren because it is able to withstand the hard rubbing necessary for a good impression. Thick paper, like that used for lithography or etching, is not very good since the printer must struggle with the baren to get a clean solid image to transfer. Echizen hosho paper, which is made with kozo from the Nasu region (an area northeast of Tokyo), is an excellent wood-block paper. Kozo fiber from the north is generally shorter than the fiber from the warmer regions. The short fiber makes a denser, more opaque sheet. These qualities are desirable for good color and sharp printing. Echizen hosho is soft and usually must be sized. The softness is a result of an additional washing of the beaten fiber to remove the hemicelluloses. A small amount of kaolin clay is added to the papermaking vat to further whiten Echizen hosho. Nishinouchi and hodomura are two papers which are also very suitable for wood-block printing. Nishinouchi is produced in Tochigi Prefecture and hodomura is produced in Tochigi and the neighboring Ibaraki Prefecture. It is not surprising that these good quality printmaking papers are made there because the excellent Nasu kozo is cultivated in that region. (When buying handmade Japanese paper, be sure it has the prefix kizuki, meaning 100% pure. Many of the names of Japanese papers are inconsistent and sometimes misleading. Today's hosho, for example, may only be an imitation of the original.) In general, any good quality, 100% kozo paper is suitable for block-printing. However, if you are making your own printing paper, keep the following points in mind. These features, based on paper I have made for my work, are important in making the ideal paper for this wood-block process. Short fibered kozo, which is found in northern regions, produces a denser, opaque paper. My first attempts at making paper for wood-block prints using kozo from Shikoku Island (a warm region) were not satisfactory. The paper, though strong, had a rather rough, open character that was not desirable for fine linework. Later I experimented with kozo from Nasu, Gumma, and Saitama regions and found that they produced the paper quality that I was looking for. Best results were obtained from one-year-growth kozo trees that were cut in January and processed into paper without delay. The fiber was cooked in a mild 12% soda ash caustic (3 kg of kozo and 30 liters of water). Cooking continued for two hours over a rather strong fire, then simmering continued for another three hours. The resulting paper was dense, white, and lustrous. Before cooking, the bark was soaked for a day, then as much black and green bark as possible was removed. I have found that a paint scraper works best for removing bark. Unlike Western papermaking using rag or half-stuff, where beating and beating time are critical, fiber selection and cooking are the factors that determine the quality of bast fiber paper. Hand beating with hard wood sticks for fifteen to twenty minutes is usually the only beating necessary to break apart the fibers of one-year-growth kozo bark. The final five minutes of beating is done using a lighter stick and with more water added to the pulp mass. When sheets for wood-block paper are formed nagashizuki-style it is necessary to slow down the sloshing action of the mold so as to create the needed thickness. The post, constructed in the traditional manner with no interleaving felts, is pressed gradually using a hydraulic or screw-type press. The sheets are dried by brushing onto boards or a metal dryer. Ideally, sizing is not needed for this paper. If the cooking and washing are carefully controlled, the paper should be hard enough to resist damage when rubbed with the baren, and the color should not bleed or feather. If sizing is required, however, animal hide glue should be used. Soak 4 grams of dry glue in 200 cc of water until soft. Heat the glue until it dissolves completely, but do not boil. Remove the glue from the heat and add 1 gram of alum. Dilute this mixture with 400 cc of water and brush the warm size onto the paper, then hang it to dry. OTHER USEFUL TOOLS AND MATERIALS Mortar and Pestle: Several small mortars and pestles are useful for grinding and storing pigments. Bench Hook: A bench hook is used to hold the block in place while it is being cut (fig. 4). There is a narrow strip of wood nailed along each end. One strip on the top holds the block in place, while the strip underneath hooks along the table edge. Rice or Wheat Paste: A small amount of rice or wheat paste is sometimes dabbed onto the block and blended with the pigment to improve the density and evenness of the color. Camelia oil: A little camelia oil is applied to the baren cover to act as a lubricant between the baren and the paper. Blotting paper: Printed sheets are kept between blotting paper to absorb some of the moisture. Animal hide glue (nikawa): Used as a binder with the pigment and water and used for sizing paper; should be available from an art supply or from Robert McClain. PROCEDURES Drawing: The drawing or sketch on thin mitsumata or kozo is called a hanshita. The hanshita paper is not too much thicker than tissue, but it must be high quality handmade paper such as usu Mino-gami (thin, all-kozo hon Mino-gami) or Hosokawa-shi (another thin 100% kozo sheet). The sketch should accurately define the contours of the image but does not have to be detailed. Effects such as cross-hatching, stippling, or shading are not easily duplicated with the cutting tools. Make several test cuts with various tools on a scrap block to see the effects that are possible and keep these in mind when planning the image. For a print that will have more than one color, you must also indicate register marks on the drawing. One mark [_] is drawn at the lower right corner and another [|_] at the lower left. The lower edge and corner of the printing paper will be set against these guides, so leave a sufficient margin around the image. When the drawing is complete, it is ready to be pasted onto the block. Preparing the Block: A block is first sanded smooth. A watercolor wash is applied to the block so that the cutting, as it progresses, can be clearly seen. The wash must be light enough to allow the black lines of the drawing to show. When the wash has dried, a small amount of rice or wheat paste (a 3 cm diameter blob for a 15 cm x 20 cm block) is spread quickly and evenly over the surface of the block. Daub the paste with the palm of your hand to produce a rough surface. This is done so that the hanshita can be moved in case an adjustment is needed. Let the hanshita fall, face down, onto the block. Adjust any wrinkles and gently press the hanshita until it is completely adhered. Before the paste dries, rub the hanshita with your fingertips. The idea is to carefully rub away the thin hanshita paper leaving only the image on the block. If the image begins to come away with the paper, there is not enough paste. If the image distorts, there is too much paste or the paste is too wet. (Sometimes we hear of someone discovering an originaly Hokusai or Utamaro drawing for a particular print. This is unlikely because the "original", the hanshita, is lost in this process.) When the block is dry, the cutting can begin. Cutting the Block: The register guides are cut first so that they will not be forgotten or accidentally cut away when clearing the margins. Press in with the kentonomi slightly (2 mm) holding the tool perfectly vertical (fig. 5). Next, with the aisuki, chisel out 10 mm up to this vertical cut. The two register guides need only be cut deep enough to catch the corner and lower edge of the paper. Using the straight to, the contours of the drawing are cut by leaning the tool slightly toward the drawing so that the cut line is at a 70-80 degree angle. The to is held in a dagger-like grip, with the thumb on the top for pressure. The flat side of the blade is always against the line and the cuts are made with strokes drawn toward the body. When one line has been cut, a second angled cut is made to join with the first to form a "V", releasing a thin sliver of wood (fig. 6). Making the cuts at an angle is important because of the need to have a strong base or foundation of wood under lines and areas. It may seem a lot easier to use a sankakuto (V-gouge) to cut the lines and contours, but it will not make an accurate, clean cut at the corners or between the fine lines. The sankakuto was not used by the ukiyoe block cutters. Once the image has been completely outlined, the unwanted white areas can be cleared out using the marunomi and the aisuki (fig. 7). Be sure to remove enough wood, to cut deep enough, so that the paper will not pick up color from these open areas. Proofing: Wash off any remaining thin paper. Set the block on the printing table with bits of damp cloth under each corner, to prevent the block from slipping while it is being printed. If the block is dry, moisten it slightly with a brush or sprayer. With a small brush apply a daub of pigment to the block and with another brush a daub of paste. Using the horse-hair brush, spread the pigment and the paste evenly over the block. Lay down a sheet of slightly damp proofing paper and, with the baren, gently rub the back of the paper in circular motions from the center outward, at first, and then rub the entire image area with more and stronger circular motions until an even pressure has been applied to the whole image. Lift the proof and inspect it. Ugh! If the unwanted areas are printing, more wood has to be removed by cutting deeper. If the solids are grainy, there is not enough color, or the paper is too dry, or there is not enough pressure. When a satisfactory proof of the key block has been pulled, count out one thin sheet of kozo or mitsumata paper for each additional color. The proofs pulled on these thin sheets from the key block will be used as hanshita for the color blocks. It is necessary to ink and print the register guides as well, so be sure that the paper for these proofs is large enough. By transferring and cutting the guides from the key block, all of the other color blocks should register accurately. Preparing the Color Blocks: Indicate on each proof one area that will be a particular color. Two or more colors can be cut on the same block if the colors do not touch and do not lie close to each other. These proofs, with the colors indicated, are pasted on the individual blocks, and the same procedures are followed as before. When all the blocks have been cut and the registration, imagery, and color scheme are satisfactory, the edition can be printed. Printing: The pigments are selected and ground in a mortar using a small amount of methyl alcohol, if necessary, to break down the particles. Thin down the pigments with water to the consistency of poster color, cover, and set aside. Count out enough paper for the edition (with extras for warm-ups and rejects) and lay face down. The face of the paper is the side that was against the drying surface. The back of the paper usually shows brush marks or is a little rougher in texture than the face. If you are using a sheet with mimi ("ears" or a deckle edge) all around, a small right-angled cut should be made at the lower right-hand corner and another straight cut made at the lower left. These will set against the register guides, since it would be impossible to accurately register against the natural deckle. An alternative to cutting the corner and edge would be to paste on temporary bits of square paper at the register points. Next, spray every other sheet of paper and place the pile between two blotters. Lay a board and weight over the pile and let it sit for an hour or more so that the moisture will be distributed evenly through each sheet. Choose the first block (usually the lightest color) and lay it on the four corner pieces of damp cloth. The baren, camelia oil, paste, brushes, colors, and sprayer are arranged on the right side of the printing table. The stack of paper to be printed is placed at the head of the block and a blotter on which to lay the printed sheet is at the left (fig. 8). Traditional block printing in Japan is done while sitting cross-legged in front of the printing table. The suridai (table) slants down away from the printer. This is so that when the paper is being set against the register guides it will not accidentally touch the wet surface of the block. Apply the pigment to the block as described above in the section on proofing. Hold the paper at the edges, between the index and middle fingers, and set it against the register guides with the thumbs (fig. 9). Let the paper drop gently onto the block. With a small amount of camelia oil on the baren, rub the paper lightly at first and then more vigorously (as explained previously) until the image has been transferred. Large areas will need more pressure than will fine lines in order to transfer all the color from the block. Examine a corner of the sheet. If the printing seems too light then more color must be added. Do this by lifting as much of the sheet as possible, without disturbing the register, brush on a little more color, and print a second time. With practice the exact balance of water, pigment, and paste is found and the printing should go smoothly. The edition should be printed with a steady rhythm, keeping the time between impressions the same to insure the moisture content will be even throughout the sheets. As each printed sheet is taken off the block, it is laid on the left, one sheet on top of another in a random fashion so that the extra moisture content of the area just printed will be somewhat absorbed by the less moist unprinted area of the sheet underneath. This helps insure overall evenness of the moisture content. This distribution of moisture is important because when the paper fibers expand, altering the sheet size, the expansion must be uniform through the pile of sheets; otherwise problems will develop with registration. There is little danger of offsetting because the color is quickly absorbed by the paper. When the last color has been printed, place cardboard or blotters between each sheet and leave to dry slowly under a weight. CONCLUSION The use of water-based pigments in combination with fine handmade kozo paper, the ability to create consistent multiples with a minimum of tools, and the numerous possibilities for the contemporary printmaker and papermaker all make this printmaking technique a very appealing medium. I hope that you are stimulated to print one or more editions on your own handmade paper.
