Sumizuri-e

Sumizuri-e is a type of monochromatic woodblock printing that uses only black ink. It is one of the earliest forms of Japanese woodblock printing, dating back to the Nara period (710 – 794).

Sumizuri-e Print by Nishikawa Sukenobu

Sumi-e translates to “ink wash painting,” which is a type of East Asian brush painting technique that uses black ink. The oldest example of sumizuri-e printing was discovered in the One Million Pagodas. These Pagodas were religious works commissioned by the Empress Shōtoku to be distributed to Japan's ten major temples.^[1] The miniature wooden pagodas were made to honor the Buddhist deities and thank them for holding back the Emi Rebellion of 764. Inside of these relics, each pagoda contains a darani, or Buddhist invocation, that was printed on small scrolls.^[2] Historians believe this is the oldest example of sumizuri-e printmaking, but due to their religious importance, it is antagonistic to remove and study all of the sutra scrolls. X-ray photos are used to observe these pagodas from a distance and allow researchers to recreate the sutras.^[3] The technology is employed to detect the age and wear of the scrolls.

Printed scroll from the One Million Pagodas

As the printmaking movement developed, artists began painting the sumizuri-e prints by hand to color in the images (kappazuri-e).