Uploaded June 2016 | Updated September 2026, 8 hours ago
This is the next in an ongoing series explaining and illustrating the new collaboration between the Mokuhankan printmaking venture and the old Doi Hanga publishing house.
This episode continues the colour printing work on the 'Matsushima' image by Tsuchiya Koitsu, and the printer is young Ayumi Ohashi. (Don't let the name change confuse you; up until last week she was Ayumi Miyashita, but has just been married ... And in fact, she's working hard to get this batch done before heading off to Tahiti for their honeymoon trip!)
The prints she is making will soon be available on the Mokuhankan website, and a link will be added here as soon as the catalogue page is ready ...
***
The ‘ending segment' was shot early in the morning over at Sensoji Temple, and shows a few quiet scenes of the beginning of a typical day there. The final shot is of the 'toki no kane' ('Time Bell') that is struck at six each morning ...
This is the next in an ongoing series explaining and illustrating the new collaboration between the Mokuhankan printmaking venture and the old Doi Hanga publishing house.
This episode continues the colour printing work on the 'Matsushima' image by Tsuchiya Koitsu, and the printer is young Ayumi Ohashi. (Don't let the name change confuse you; up until last week she was Ayumi Miyashita, but has just been married ... And in fact, she's working hard to get this batch done before heading off to Tahiti for their honeymoon trip!)
The prints she is making will soon be available on the Mokuhankan website, and a link will be added here as soon as the catalogue page is ready ...
***
The ‘ending segment' was shot early in the morning over at Sensoji Temple, and shows a few quiet scenes of the beginning of a typical day there. The final shot is of the 'toki no kane' ('Time Bell') that is struck at six each morning ...






![Any Sufficiently Archaic Technology is Indistinguishable from Magic
In this video, Tokyo-based printmaker Dave Bull shows the entire process of making a batch of woodblock prints from blank paper to finished print - in PPOV style (Printers Point Of View) - with each of the impressions happening in an uncut, unedited, uninterrupted flow, of ten sheets per colour. The viewers can get a very good feeling for the rhythm of the process, and can see just how the pigment/paste balance is controlled along the way.
00:00:00 Daves introduction
00:01:52 Impression #1 : Key block : Black
00:13:15 Impression #2 : Distant lines : Teal
00:17:51 Impression #3 : Bamboo : Light green
00:25:36 Impression #4 : Kimono pattern : Red
00:31:04 Impression #5 : Garden fencing : Brown
00:38:58 Impression #6 : Ground / bamboo : Teal
00:50:45 Impression #7 : Shadow tinting : Purple
00:58:53 Impression #8/9 : Sky gradation : Blue (Each sheet twice)
01:22:09 Impression #10 : Sky gradation : Green
01:29:23 Impression #11 : Worker names / Print title : Embossing
The print used for this demonstration is ‘Takeoff’, which was designed for us by Atelier Sento. It is part of our Dreams of Future Past’ subscription series; information here:
https://mokuhankan.com/subscriptions/...
The block set was carved for us by Taran Casey, and he produced a video on his own YouTube channel showing _that_ process:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIYfuYO1sHY
[ Note: there is no narration included in this video, in an attempt to bring you into the undisturbed world of a printers work. Dave will be watching the comments, so drop your questions there, please. (And maybe scan through the comments first, to see if your question has already been answered) ]
There will undoubtedly be questions about the three bowls. They are, from left to right:
- the pigment for that impression (powder pigment mixed with water)
- paste (a starch paste, mixed in water)
- water (used to help balance when the colour starts to get a bit too deep in the prints)
The Mokuhankan website:
https://mokuhankan.com/index.html
Our Twitch stream (live three times a week):
https://www.twitch.com/japaneseprintm...
The Mokuhankan Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/mokuhankan Any Sufficiently Archaic Technology is Indistinguishable from Magic](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/HycBmwVHa6Y/mqdefault.jpg)

![Concert for the Printer
Recorded in the Seseragi Studio, Tokyo workroom of woodlbock printmaker David Bull. Young trainee printer Ms. Teiko Fujii was working at her bench, when she was interrupted by a visitor who perched on the railing, and gave her a three-minute concert of birdsong!
[Note: we dont have an ID on this bird; if you know what it is, please let us know in the comments - thanks!] Concert for the Printer](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/If0SKNWUvoo/mqdefault.jpg)

