Edo Mokuhanga Kitagawa Utamaro, “Five Beauties Competing in Charm,” Yatsuyama Hiranoya
The matted Utamaro portrait displayed as the quiet focal point of a restrained contemporary study.
A close interior view of the matted Utamaro print revealing the hair, ornaments, kimono pattern and washi surface.
The matted Utamaro portrait paired with natural wood, dark plaster and linen in a contemporary living interior.
The matted Utamaro print presented as a thoughtful gift on a clean table, with minimal wrapping kept separate.
Edo Mokuhanga Kitagawa Utamaro, “Five Beauties Competing in Charm,” Yatsuyama Hiranoya
The matted Utamaro portrait displayed as the quiet focal point of a restrained contemporary study.
A close interior view of the matted Utamaro print revealing the hair, ornaments, kimono pattern and washi surface.
The matted Utamaro portrait paired with natural wood, dark plaster and linen in a contemporary living interior.
The matted Utamaro print presented as a thoughtful gift on a clean table, with minimal wrapping kept separate.
Takahashi Kobo Co., Ltd. SKU: BJ_P_00091

Edo Mokuhanga Kitagawa Utamaro, “Five Beauties Competing in Charm,” Yatsuyama Hiranoya

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Product Details

PRODUCT DETAILS

A Poised Utamaro Portrait, Printed by Hand

An Edo woodblock portrait by Kitagawa Utamaro, reproduced through the collaborative skills of carver, printer, and publisher. The poised figure, intricate hair ornaments, restrained color, and softly textured washi reward both distant viewing and close attention. Presented with a white mat, this work brings a historic visual language into a contemporary interior without reducing it to decoration.

USE & APPRECIATION

Give a Quiet Wall a Clear Center

Look up from your desk and let the portrait give a quiet wall its center. The sweep of dark hair, delicate profile, and patterned robe invite attention at different distances, making a familiar workspace a place for looking as well as working.

The matted Utamaro portrait displayed as the quiet focal point of a restrained contemporary study.

Look Closely at the Work of Line

Take a closer look before choosing the print's place in your room. Fine hairlines and intricate ornaments reveal the collaboration of carver and printer, giving the restrained portrait details you can return to over time.

A close interior view of the matted Utamaro print revealing the hair, ornaments, kimono pattern and washi surface.

Pair History with a Contemporary Interior

Pair the historic image with simple contemporary furniture for a calm indoor setting. Its dark robe and pale face form a clear contrast, letting the portrait hold its own above warm wood without a crowded display.

The matted Utamaro portrait paired with natural wood, dark plaster and linen in a contemporary living interior.

Choose a Gift with a Visible Making Story

Choose the print for someone who enjoys discovering how an object is made. Its fine lines and layered color offer a visible introduction to woodblock craft, making the gift something to explore as well as display.

The matted Utamaro print presented as a thoughtful gift on a clean table, with minimal wrapping kept separate.

OBJECT PASSPORT / CARE & USE

Care & Handling

Care guide for the Edo woodblock print: indoor display only, limit light, avoid moisture, and handle with clean dry hands

This is a work on washi. Display it indoors in a clean, stable setting, away from direct or intense light and sources of moisture. Handle the mat or frame with clean, dry hands.

OBJECT PASSPORT

Product details

Dimensions
250 × 380 (335 × 480) mm
Material
Washi (Echizen kizuki hōsho paper)
Product weight
137 g
Origin
Japan

This design is Kitagawa Utamaro’s Yatsuyama Hiranoya from Five Beauties Competing in Charm, dating to circa 1795–96.

This traditional hand-printed reproduction uses twelve woodblocks and thirteen impressions, with Japanese mountain cherry for the blocks and Echizen kizuki hōsho paper. The original work is held by Ota Memorial Museum of Art.
Craft Heritage

CRAFT HERITAGE

Craft Heritage

Edo Mokuhanga developed from early monochrome prints that were colored by hand in styles known as tan-e, beni-e, and urushi-e. Printers later began using separate woodblocks for color, producing two- and three-color beni-zuri-e prints.

By 1765, gold, silver, and intermediate tones could also be printed from woodblocks, establishing the multicolor format. The carving and printing techniques developed during the Edo period have been refined and passed down to the present day.
How It’s Made

TRADITIONAL CRAFT PROCESS

How It’s Made

About the Making Process

Edo Mokuhanga is created through the coordinated work of a carver and a printer.
The carver cuts the design into natural cherry blocks.
The printer aligns handmade washi to the registration marks, applies pigment, and rubs the back of the paper with a baren.
The depth of the carving and the amount of pigment both affect the result, requiring precise adjustments from each specialist.
Multicolor works are built up one block at a time and may require more than 30 impressions.

1. Carving
  • The outlines of the original drawing are transferred to the key block and carved along the ink lines with a small knife. Nonprinting areas are cleared with chisels.
  • Two registration marks, kagi-kento and hikitsuke-kento, are carved into the block to ensure that the paper is positioned consistently.
  • Using a proof from the key block as a guide, the area required for each color is carved with knives or chisels on a separate color block. Cherry is used for the printing blocks.
2. Printing
  • A small, broom-shaped tool called a tokibo transfers pigment to the block, and a brush spreads it evenly. Handmade hosho washi is positioned against the registration marks.
  • A baren is rubbed firmly over the back of the paper, pressing the pigment deep into its fibers.
  • The color blocks are printed in sequence from lighter to darker colors. Some works require more than 30 separate impressions.
  • The printer adjusts the amount of pigment applied to the block in response to changes in temperature and humidity.
Meet the Maker

MEET THE MAKER

Meet the Maker

MAKER · BUNKYO, TOKYO

Color, Registered by Hand

At Takahashi Kobo, Edo woodblock printing is not treated as a historical image separated from its making. It remains a coordinated practice in which an artist's design, a carver's blocks, a printer's hand, and a publisher's direction meet on washi.

Portrait of Yukiko Takahashi, sixth-generation representative of Takahashi Kobo
Yukiko Takahashi, Sixth Generation

Takahashi Kobo was founded during Japan's Ansei era, between 1855 and 1860. The Takahashi family inherited the work of printers, and from the fourth generation also assumed the role of publisher—the person responsible for planning a work and coordinating the specialists who bring it into being.

Sixth-generation representative Yukiko Takahashi learned printing from her father before taking charge of the workshop. Her work extends from the reproduction of ukiyo-e to collaborations with contemporary artists, designers, architects, and animators. The workshop also develops projects that combine the transmission of technique with the training of younger craftspeople.

Many Hands, One Impression

Edo woodblock printing depends on a division of labor. An artist supplies the image. A carver separates its colors and cuts the required cherry-wood blocks. A printer places pigment on each block and transfers the layers to washi. A publisher directs the sequence and holds the complete work together.

The printer aligns the paper to registration marks called kentō and generally works from lighter areas toward deeper ones. Moisture in the paper, the balance of water, pigment, and paste, the pressure and movement of the baren, and the timing of each impression determine whether the colors meet cleanly and how the surface appears. Woodblock printing techniques include bokashi, which creates gradation through controlled handling of pigment on the block, and karazuri and kimedashi, which create relief in the paper without printed color. Alongside the layering of colors, this craft preserves a range of ways to work with the texture of washi.

A Tradition Made Useful Again

The workshop continues to reproduce historic prints, but it also develops new ways for woodblock culture to be encountered through contemporary images and objects. That activity is not a departure from the tradition's structure. Edo prints were themselves products of collaboration, publishing, and the visual culture of their time. Takahashi Kobo carries that structure forward by asking what should be printed now, who should be involved, and how the craft can remain intelligible to a new audience.
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