(#6) Saiga Shokunin Burui (Various Classes of Artisans in Coloured Pictures)

Hillier describes the original Saiga Shokunin Burui as "probably the finest 'kappazuri' (stencil) work ever produced in Japan and a deeply interesting account of contemporary craftsmanship". The authentic hand-made woodblock print for sale on this page was published in 1916 by Fuzoku Emaki Zuga Kankokai and Yoshikawa Kobunkan - the oldest Japanese publisher still in existence, founded in 1857 - using recut wood blocks by master cutter Otsuka Yuji Almost a hundred years old now, this print exhibits beautifully antiqued colour tones that only extensive aging can produce. An original copy of this classic is held by the British Museum and a 1784 later reprint by the V&A, Rijksmuseum and Museum of Fine Arts Boston