Plasterer

"Plasterer" (Sakan) is a color woodblock print from around 1940 by Wada Sanzo showing a craftsman who applies shikkui lime plaster to walls and storehouses. Japanese plastering is a specialized building trade that produces the smooth white walls seen on castles, kura storehouses, and temple buildings. The sakan works with a mixture of slaked lime, seaweed glue, and plant fiber, applying it in multiple thin coats with a wide steel trowel that must be kept scrupulously clean and flat. The final surface, when properly executed, has a luminous depth that cannot be replicated by modern materials. Wada captures the plasterer's physical stance, the extended arm holding the loaded trowel against the wall, the concentration required to maintain even pressure across each stroke. The white plaster walls that resulted from this labor became one of the defining visual features of traditional Japanese townscapes.