Synthesized answer
The passages directly highlight two key inconsistencies for a timeline. First, Note 8 gives three conflicting dates for the origin of color-printing: Dr. Anderson assigns 1700, Mr. S. Tuke fixes it at 1710, and "the most exhaustive researches assign it to about 1740" [8]. Second, Note 9 shows that terms like *nishiki* (brocade) and *suri-mono* (print) changed meaning over time—*nishiki* originally meant "many-coloured," and *suri-mono* later came to designate New Year's chromo-xylographs and black-and-white prints [9]. These inconsistencies would make it impossible to assign a single, certain start date for color-printing or to use terms like *nishiki-ye* without clarifying their evolving definitions.
To address these challenges, I would first note all three dates (1700, 1710, 1740) on the timeline as competing scholarly claims, citing the source of each [8]. I would also add a note explaining that the term *nishiki* shifted from "many-coloured" to a specific technique, and that *suri-mono* changed from a general term for "print" to a specific genre [9]. The passages do not provide enough information to resolve which date is correct or to fully trace the term shifts, so I would…
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From the book
portraits of patriarchs, and other priests enriched their country to an almost equal extent in the same century. Note 6. —Every collector knows these maki-mono , or pictorial scrolls. Sometimes the long series of pictures told their own tale, but generally the drawings served only to illustrate a chapter of history or legend written in their intervals or on their margins. Note 7. —It will be observed that this record assigns to wood-engraving in Japan an antiquity nearly six hundred years greater than that attributable to the beginning of the art in Europe. Note 8. —Dr. Anderson assigns 1700…
nd other priests enriched their country to an almost equal extent in the same century. ↑ See Appendix, note 6. Note 6. —Every collector knows these maki-mono , or pictorial scrolls. Sometimes the long series of pictures told their own tale, but generally the drawings served only to illustrate a chapter of history or legend written in their intervals or on their margins. ↑ See Appendix, note 7. Note 7. —It will be observed that this record assigns to wood-engraving in Japan an antiquity nearly six hundred years greater than that attributable to the beginning of the art in Europe. ↑ See…
ven hundred years after its products had come into actual use. There is not any irreconcilable contradiction, of course. The Japanese historian may maintain that the mirror had been in his countrymen's possession and had been regarded by them as a rare and wonderful object, long before they understood the processes of its manufacture. But, as a matter of fact, he does not appear to have yet noticed the discrepancy between attested facts and the statements he advances. Note 14. —Indra and Brama are generally coloured red and green, respectively. Note 15. —It is significant that painting also…
e of the former. This process will be continued until the proofs of the first issue have all been printed in one colour. Then the process is similarly repeated with each colour block in turn, and the first issue of our nishiki-ye is now finished and ready for the market. It will probably be a small issue, to the end that the artist, should he not be contented with the result, may be able to make alterations before the outline block has lost its freshness. Such alterations may be effected in several ways, either by an entire redistribution of colour on the old colour blocks, by the…
g it by hand came into vogue. At first, only two colours were used, orange and green, but yellow was subsequently added. It is evident that the painter desired to preserve the quality of the line engraving, and that he subordinated these broad, decorative effects of colour to the character of the black and white drawing. Among hand-coloured prints two kinds are sometimes mistaken for chromo-xylographs. They are the tan-ye, or orange picture, and the urnshi-ye, or lacquered picture. The former derived its name from the fact that orange was the dominant colour, yellow the secondary; and the…
More questions about this book
- The text details various notes on Japanese art terms and history, including a significant chronological difference in the development of wood-engraving between Japan and Europe. How might such a foundational difference in artistic technology influence the unique aesthetic qualities and societal role of art in each culture?
- Considering the emphasis on Chinese artists as "household words in Japan" (Note 3) and the prelate Kukai bringing numerous paintings from China in 806 (Note 5), how would you explain the profound and sustained influence of Chinese culture on early Japanese artistic development to a complete novice?
- Note 6 describes maki-mono scrolls as either telling a story directly or illustrating accompanying text. What does this dual function reveal about the relationship between visual art and narrative in historical Japanese culture, and how might it differ from contemporary Western approaches to art and storytelling?
- This excerpt comes from the appendix of a 1902 academic work. What specific details within these notes hint at the historical context or scholarly debates prevalent at the time Captain Brinkley was writing, and how might this influence our modern interpretation of the information presented?