No. 11, from the series Primary Education: Manners for Women, Explained in Pictures (Shōgaku joreishiki zukai)

Editor: Here we have Adachi Ginkō's woodblock print, *No. 11, from the series Primary Education: Manners for Women, Explained in Pictures*. I'm really struck by how the artist uses layered space and text to create a sense of depth, and how the whole print relies on flattened blocks of color. What do you make of it? Curator: It is fascinating to consider this print's creation, thinking about the division of labor in ukiyo-e production. The artist's design required skilled block carvers and printers. The materials themselves, the paper and inks, and the social context of its production for a rising literate class are all intertwined. What does it mean to have "manners" mass produced and taught in pictures? Editor: So, you're saying the materials and production methods reflect the social changes of the time? Curator: Exactly! It challenges the notion of art as purely aesthetic, highlighting the social and economic forces at play.