Untitled

Without an identifying title, this woodblock print by Miyagawa Shuntei cannot be described by subject with confidence. It represents the category of late Meiji commercial print production in which Shuntei worked: woodblock-printed designs aimed at an urban, literate audience familiar with both classical [ukiyo-e](/glossary/ukiyo-e) subjects and contemporary illustrated culture. Shuntei's figure drawing shows awareness of the [kacho-e](/glossary/kacho-e) and [bijin-ga](/glossary/bijin-ga) traditions while accommodating the more rapid production rhythms of the periodical press. Technical execution in prints of this type involves a carved cherry-wood keyblock establishing the primary contour lines in [sumi](/glossary/sumi) ink, followed by separate color blocks for each pigment zone, printed wet-on-wet or in sequence after drying, on sheets of handmade [washi](/glossary/washi) sized with dosa solution to control pigment spread.