// Alt H — Ukiyo-e woodblock (木版画) // The page is a print shop. One ukiyo-e composition is built up plate by // plate: keyblock (line), then color blocks 1-8. Kentō registration marks // frame each plate. Tools, paper, baren strewn around. function AltWoodblock() { // Build-up sequence: each plate adds one color over the previous. const plates = [ { num: "墨版 · KEY", romaji: "Sumi · line block", add: "#1B1B1B" }, { num: "01", romaji: "Indigo · 藍", add: "#264653" }, { num: "02", romaji: "Asagi · 浅葱", add: "#5F9EA0" }, { num: "03", romaji: "Sakura · 桜", add: "#F1C6C1" }, { num: "04", romaji: "Beni · 紅", add: "#B33A3A" }, { num: "05", romaji: "Yamabuki · 山吹", add: "#D8A431" }, { num: "06", romaji: "Matcha · 抹茶", add: "#7A8B55" }, { num: "07", romaji: "Murasaki · 紫", add: "#6B4C7A" }, ]; // A plate: paper rectangle with kentō (L-shape + line) and a single // colored region that hints at the print composition. We make the // composition geometric, not figurative — bands that build up. function Plate({ idx, label, fill, cumulative }) { return (
{/* kentō marks — L bottom-right + line bottom-left */} {/* plate label */}
{idx} {label}
{/* the "image" — abstract composition that builds up */}
{cumulative}
); } // Build up cumulative composition for each plate function Composition({ upto }) { // Layers (bottom to top, drawn in order): // 0: key block lines // 1: indigo sky band (top half) // 2: asagi mid band // 3: sakura flower clusters // 4: beni accents // 5: yamabuki moon disk // 6: matcha ground band // 7: murasaki silhouette const layers = [ // 0: key block — sumi outlines {/* ground line */} {/* horizon */} {/* tree trunk */} {/* mountain outline */} {/* small bird */} {/* signature box */} , // 1: indigo sky top , // 2: asagi mid band , // 3: sakura blossom clusters {[[40, 90, 10], [55, 70, 8], [70, 95, 9], [38, 110, 7]].map((b, i) => ( ))} , // 4: beni accents — bird, signature , // 5: yamabuki — moon , // 6: matcha ground band , // 7: murasaki silhouette , ]; return ( {/* paper noise */} {/* always draw the new layer for THIS plate only (so you see the contribution), plus all preceding layers so it builds visually */} {layers.slice(0, upto + 1)} ); } return (
{/* Top folio */}
CHROMA CATHAY · PRINT WORKSHOP METHODOLOGY · 02 / WOODBLOCK INDEX · PALETTES · GUIDES · LOG
{/* Masthead */}
A print, one plate at a time

木版画 Mokuhanga

An Edo-era ukiyo-e print is not one image but eight — a key block of sumi lines, and then a separate carved block for every color, registered to a hairsbreadth. We use the same logic: every palette in this atlas is a stack of plates.

KEY + 7 COLOR PLATES "Spring evening at Yoshino" — a printer's diagram
{/* The plates row */}
The build-up · 摺り重ね ← READ LEFT TO RIGHT · EIGHT PASSES
{plates.map((p, i) => (
{/* swatch tag */}
{p.num} {p.romaji}
} /> {p.add}
))}
{/* Two columns: tools + palette of THIS print */}
{/* Tools on the bench */}
In the workshop · 道具
{[ { glyph: "彫", t: "Carving knife", note: "the to" }, { glyph: "刷", t: "Baren disk", note: "for burnishing" }, { glyph: "墨", t: "Sumi ink", note: "for the key block" }, { glyph: "和", t: "Hōsho washi", note: "kozo paper, sized" }, { glyph: "見", t: "Kentō marks", note: "L + line registration" }, ].map((t, i) => (
{t.glyph}
{t.t} {t.note}
))}
{/* The composite — final print */}
The finished impression · 摺上り
EDITION 1 / 200 EIGHT-COLOR · NISHIKI-E FOLIO Nº 24
{/* Palette of this print, as exportable tokens */}
Palette · this print's eight
{plates.map((p, i) => (
{i === 0 ? "KEY" : String(i).padStart(2, "0")}
{p.romaji.split(" · ")[1] || p.romaji} {p.add}
+
))}
8 PLATES · 1 IMPRESSION EXPORT PALETTE →
{/* Other prints */}
Other prints in this folio {[ ["Autumn moon at Tama", "9 plates"], ["Winter pine, dawn", "5 plates"], ["Wisteria at Kameido", "11 plates"], ].map((r, i) => (
{r[0]} {r[1]}
))}
{/* Bottom: printer's mark */}
); } window.AltWoodblock = AltWoodblock;