Post Office on the Honmachi Street after 1854

Utagawa Kunishige III made this woodblock print of the Post Office on Honmachi Street sometime in the late 19th century. The technique involves carving a design into a block of wood, applying ink to the raised surface, and then pressing paper against it to create an image. In this print, we see a bustling street scene with figures in both traditional Japanese and Western attire. This collision is no accident. Kunishige is capturing a moment of intense cultural exchange and the modernization of Japan during the Meiji era. Look at the careful registration of the colors, the crisp lines, and the way the wood grain subtly influences the texture of the print. Woodblock printing required a close collaboration between the artist, who designed the image, the carver, who translated the design into wood blocks, and the printer, who applied the ink and pressed the paper. Each artisan brought unique skills and knowledge to the process, highlighting that printmaking is as much a social endeavor as a technical one. The print embodies this fusion, challenging any strict separation between art, craft, and social context.