Hanmoto

版元

The publisher who financed, coordinated, and marketed woodblock prints. Major publishers like Tsutaya Juzaburo and Nishimuraya Yohachi commissioned designs, managed carvers and printers, and navigated censorship regulations. Their seals appear on prints as marks of origin.

Related Terms

Han

版

The woodblock used in printing, or by extension, the print itself. The term appears in compound words like hanmoto (publisher) and hanga (print).

Hanga

版画

The Japanese word for woodblock print. The term encompasses both traditional ukiyo-e and later movements like shin-hanga (new prints) and sosaku-hanga (creative prints).

Hanshita-e

版下絵

The final preparatory drawing made by the artist, which was pasted face-down onto the woodblock and carved through, destroying the original in the process. This explains why few original ukiyo-e drawings survive.

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