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The People Here, in a series of capsule introductions, are the people behind the prints we are making at Mokuhankan. Not all the people will be involved in every print, and as time goes by I hope to involve a large number of the currently active craftsmen in our project, but here is a start ...  Mr. Ichibei Iwano (and family)
Iwano-san is now in his seventies, and certainly doesn't produce all the paper by himself. It is a cooperative affair among all family members, who share the labor of preparing the mulberry, dipping the sheets, and finishing them ready for shipping to the waiting printmakers. But no matter which member of the family dipped the particular sheet that forms the print you receive, it is never described as being anything but 'made by Iwano Ichibei' - who stands responsible for everything done in their workshop. Mr. Isami Misawa
You can get a glimpse of what the work involves from this photograph: brushing the warm size over the sheets with large (and heavy) brushes, then hanging them from ceiling clips to dry. He adjusts the amount of opening of the windows in accordance with the temperature/humidity at that moment, in order to have the sheets dry at just the correct rate. It is actually a very difficult job, and a lot of printers depend on his skill. Mr. Shingo Ueda
Well, if you read the 'long' version of the story on the Concept page, you might be able to guess. Let it suffice to say here that Ueda-san has himself made a serious study of Meiji-era prints, and has taken those as his models, rather than what he sees being currently produced. He knows what good work is, he is eager to do some, and he is hungry, and if anybody knows of a better combination, I'd like to hear about it! David Bull
Print publishers have come and gone over the years, mostly 'gone' these days. A couple of the Tokyo outfits have dabbled a bit with the internet, but they certainly don't grok the web, and their websites can't be doing much for their business. What is needed is somebody who knows a good bit about printmaking, someone who can bring a fresh viewpoint about what can be produced (instead of re-hashing the 'same old same old' all over again), someone who can communicate with the craftsmen in their own language, someone who has at least some ability to 'get the message out' (both domestically here in Japan, and overseas), and ... perhaps most importantly, someone who is enthusiastic about all this stuff. Can I have a show of hands? ... I thought so ... Nobody here but me! :-) So there you have it, the basic 'crew'. Watch this space for further developments! |
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We are now down to the last three families making premium quality paper for traditional printmaking. There are actually hundreds of papermakers scattered around the country, but it is only these three who specialize in the Echizen hosho that has been the standard for top quality prints ever since the mid Edo period. We are using paper made by Mr. Ichibei Iwano, who is the 9th generation of his family to carry that name, and who a few years back received the rare honour of being named a Living National Treasure, as did his father before him.
Freshly-made paper is not suitable for printmaking in its virgin form, and needs to be sized before use. Our paper is shipped directly from Iwano san's workshop to that of Mr. Misawa, who - after consulting with us as to how each particular batch is to be used - brushes it with a solution of warm gelatin. That doesn't sound like a particularly challenging job, but it is actually full of delicate nuance, as any slight variation in the concentration of the sizing has major ramifications once the paper reaches the printing bench.
Why would I select as the first printer to work for Mokuhankan, a young man in his mid 20's? Why wouldn't I go with one of the men who has 'done it all, seen it all'?
I don't want to talk too much about myself here. If you have wandered around
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Concept | People | Prints | Conversations
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