Traditional Japanese Printmaking - Unintentional ASMR

Printmaking is the process of creating artwork by printing, usually on paper but also fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" generally includes only the process of making prints by manual processing.

Traditional Japanese woodblock printmaking is a hybrid art form with a warmth and grace unique in printmaking. It combines the expertise of artists, printers, and wood carvers. While many traditional art forms have always been the domain of the upper classes around the world, woodcut prints are different—the common people of Japan were the ones who cherished Ukiyo-e prints and developed the techniques to produce them.

The mokuhanga technique, which was widely used in Japan during the Edo period (1603-1868) and is similar to woodcut in Western printmaking in some ways, differs in that it uses water-based inks, as opposed to western woodcut, which typically uses oil-based inks. The Japanese water-based inks come in a variety of vibrant colors, glazes, and transparency.
In the following short video, Printing Master Keiji Shinohara demonstrates the impressively masterful and fascinating printing process, age-old techniques, recognizable style, and lasting legacy of Japanese woodblock prints.
I hope you have a great time enjoying this video!
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Timestamps
Highlights in this video
00:00 Intro
01:28 Water is vital
01:31 Paper has to be moist to get the color from the blocks
03:48 Each block has a specific area to print
04:12 You need 14 blocks and 15 colors
04:18 You’re going to print with the light color
05:54 Registration is very important
05:57 You have to keep it exactly the same throughout the process
06:07 Registration mark, in the same block
06:28 to adjust the registration mark
07:41 I changed the registration mark
09:13 There are only two types of inking brushes
12:22 and the make gradation a second time
12:28 I’m going to apply color
15:49 Kata bokashi