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東洲斎写楽：Shyaraku
Item3： Old screen.
About Ukiyo-e anｄ “ Washi”
Ukiyo-e is one of the most popular Japanese paintings, draw everyday life of commoner which were very active 17th century until mid 20th century especially in Edo period. (1600〜1868)
Most of Ukiyo-e are painted by woodprint but some are by Japanese pen (Fude).
Utamaro, Hokusai, Hiroshige ,Sharaku, and Harunobu are the most famous Ukiyo-e painters.
These Ukiyo-es are printed by Mr. Naotaro Nagao who is 87 years old, a very famous woodprinter. He has been printing Ukiyo-e for 73 years all over the world.(Ex. The British Museum) His family have been lived in Asakusa(Tokyo) for 400 years, and they were Hatamoto-samurai in Edo era.
長尾直太郎： Naotaro Nagao
Printing Ukiyo-e ｂｙ hand
Asakusa（Tokyo)
The paper we use for Ukiyo-e is called “ Washi” which produced here in Gokayama, Toyama for over 1200 years. “ Washi” is very beautiful and strong paper.
They still make “Washi” one sheet at a time by hand like old method.
Gokayama1(Toyama)
Gokayama2(Toyama)
Producting “ Washi” by hand
His sinior son is woodcarver.
and junior son is woodprinter too.
Gokayama ( Toyama prefectures N36 24 00 E136 53 00 )
World Heritage comitted ｂｙ UNESCO in 1995. [ 734 Japan C(iv)(v) ]
Located in a mountainous region that was cut off from the rest of the world
for a long period of time, these villages with their Gassho-style houses
subsisted on the cultivation of mulberry trees and the rearing of silkworms.
The large houses with their steeply pitched thatched roofs are the only
examples of their kind in Japan. Despite economic upheavals, the villages
of Ogimachi, Ainokura and Suganuma are outstanding examples of a traditional
way of life perfectly adapted to the environment and people's social and
economic circumstances.
VTR Gokayama (NHK) 171sec
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