Learning traditional Japanese woodblock carving and printing
On 20 May, I had a brilliant day at the City & Guilds of London Art School learning about traditional Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock carving and printing with Master Woodblock Carver, Motoharu Asaka.
Ukiyo-e is a genre of Japanese art that flourished from the 17th to 19th century. Artists produced woodblock prints and paintings of such subjects as female beauties; kabuki actors and sumo wrestlers; scenes from history and folk tales; travel scenes and landscapes; flora and fauna; and erotica. The term ukiyo-e (浮世絵) translates as 'picture[s] of the floating world'.
Motoharu Asaka is one of the last remaining Master Woodblock Carvers in Japan, with more than 45 years’ experience and commissions from national museums and world-renowned contemporary artists.
At the age of 17, Motoharu Asaka moved to Kyoto to begin an arduous ten-year apprenticeship to learn the 400 year old process of ukiyo-e Japanese woodblock carving and printing – a process never fully introduced into the formal education system, but passed down from Masters throughout time.
Since 2011, he has dedicated his time to making sure these ancient skills do not die out. Wanting to spread his knowledge as widely as possible, he opened his studio to the public and tours the world, teaching workshops at selected institutions.
