Snowy Drum bridge and Setting Sun Hill buying at Meguro - Ancient Japanese Repro Scroll

雪の太鼓橋広重 - Snowy Drum bridge and Setting Sun Hill at Meguro

This is a Giclée fine art reproduction of a very old Japanese woodblock print. This was made months ago, rather than centuries ago.

Original artist: Utagawa Hiroshige 歌川 広重 (1797–1858)
Original woodblock was created in Japan, around 1857

This depicts a snowy scene at Taiko Bridge in Meguro, Tokyo. This was part of the series, "One Hundred Famous Views of Edo". This was number 111, part 4, depicting Winter.

There are multiple phrases on the cartouches of this print that could be construed as titles. The one most used as the main title is: 目黒太鼓橋夕日の岡
Literally: Meguro Taiko Bridge, Sunset Hill.

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Contrary to popular belief, woodblock printing (and in a way, the first printing press) was invented in China. Both artwork and whole books were produced in China using the woodblock print technique. Much of this artwork and printed books made their way to Japan. Emulating the methods and adding to the style, Japanese artists took woodblock printing to the next level.

In Japan, woodblock prints are known as 木版畫 or "Moku Hanga". Most were produced during the Edo period (1603–1867). To put that in perspective, that's from before what is now the USA was even a British colony, to just after the Civil War. Some artists continued creating prints into the early 1900s.

At that time, Japanese artists would create "template paintings" with detailed images of "everyday life" scenes of Japan. Some of these "everyday life" or 浮世絵 (Ukiyo-e), which translates as "Floating World" images, depict battling Samurai, beheadings, and even prostitution. This leads you to believe that "everyday life", was rather exciting in ancient Japan. However, most Ukiyo-e prints were more tame scenes of everything from women washing clothes, to men writing poetry.

After creating the template, the artist would then have another artisan carve large blanks of wood with those images. The carved wood blocks were then given to yet another artisan, known as an "inker". The inker would then carefully apply wet ink or colorful paint to the various carved surfaces. A sheet of handmade paper was then pressed over the inked woodblock to create the final print. The process was laborious, but not as tedious as hand-painting hundreds of copies from scratch.

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If this was an "original" Japanese woodblock print, dating back to the Edo period, the price would be anywhere from $800 to $20,000.
Just to be clear again: This is a reproduction.
The buying quality of this reproduction is very good, but a true expert will spot this as a reproduction after examining it for a few moments.

I use handmade Kozo (mulberry) paper - the same kind of paper that Japanese woodblock print makers used centuries ago.
The pigment-based ink is archival and UV-resistant. The ink manufacturer claims that the giclée prints created with this ink will last up to 200 years if not in direct sunlight. I figure you'll get a lifetime of enjoyment if you take good care of this wall scroll. I spend hours making sure the colors are vibrant and touching up areas that might be damaged or missing from the old original print. The result is very close to what the woodblock print would look like if you could go back in time to the Edo period, and buy it from the artist's studio in old Japan.

After carefully printing and inspecting this artwork, I sent the raw print on Kozo paper to my workshop in Beijing where it was built into a handmade wall scroll. This makes it ready-to-hang (no expensive framing needed) and gives the whole piece a very traditional Asian look.

All of this effort on my part means you get a really beautiful Japanese woodblock print reproduction, for a very affordable price. I am not sure I will ever make a profit on these (I would need to charge about double this price if that was the goal), but I really like to make unique Asian artwork affordable and accessible to everyone.

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Want a customized wall scroll or custom-sized print? Just contact me!

I can print this larger, on the paper texture of your choice, and give you whatever silk brocade colors you want. It does take several weeks, but worth the wait if you want something really custom and unique.