226 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1892. 



Pigments and vehicles fsed for. printing. — Five colors or 

 pigments only [black, white, red, yellow, blue] are generally used for 

 the most characteristic Japanese printing, such as the picture called 

 "Yinaka genji,"* sent to the U. S. National Museum. They are all 

 mixed with the necessary quantity of water, when about to be used, 

 and the various hues, shades, and tints required are obtained by mixing 

 the proper pigments together. These pigments, of which samples were 

 sent to the IT. S. National Museum, are the following: 



a. Black, " tsuke-zumi," is generally prepared by macerating Japan- 

 ese ink (a kind of India ink) in water for a few days, until the glue con- 

 tained in it is dissolved, and the ink is sufficiently softened. It is then 

 ground by means of pestle and mortar. As, however, the "tsuke- 

 zumi" so made is very liable to deterioration, a sample of a lampblack 

 obtained from a Japanese ink macerated in water so as to remove the 

 glue, was sent to the U. S. National Museum. Consequently when this 

 lampblack is to be used, and after it has been mixed with water, glue 

 solution, or rice paste (according to the judgment of the printer) will 

 have to be added. If glue solution is used it should be mixed with 

 the lampblack in a basin, but if rice paste is used, that is mixed with 

 the pigment on the plank itself by means of the brush. 



b. White, "to-no-tsuchi," is white lead. It is used either alone, for 

 prints of flowers, birds, etc., or mixed with other colors, if light tints 

 or body colors arc wanted. 



* "Yinaka genji" is a design in black outlines with color washes. It is printed 

 on three sheets, intended to he pasted together, each sheet measuring about 9| 

 inches in breadth by 14 inches in height, printed surface, or the three sheets, when 

 pasted together, about 29 inches in breadth by 14 inches in height. It represents a 

 hilly landscape, in the middle ground of which agricultural operations are being 

 carried on. Six larger figures occupy the foreground, as follows : On the first sheet 

 are represented two richly dressed ladies, the one to the left kneeling, turned to- 

 wards the right, and holding a parcel in her left hand. The one to the right stands, 

 with the body turned towards the right, but looking down upon the kneeling figure 

 on the left, and holding in her left hand a vessel suspended by a string. In the 

 second or middle sheet there is another richly dressed lady, kneeling, with her 

 body nearly fronting the spectator, while her face, shaded by the left hand, is turned 

 up towards the group in the third sheet. In her right hand she holds a fan. On 

 the third sheet there is a group of three figures. A man, likewise richly dressed, 

 wearing a sword in his belt, and holding a pipe in his left hand, stands, turned 

 somewhat towards the left, but looking back upon a. lady who kueels to the right 

 of him and makes an appealing gesture with her left hand. To the right of the 

 kneeling lady, somewhat back of and bending down towards her, is a second lady, 

 standing, who makes a gesture of astonishment with her left hand. Both are richly 

 dressed. The coloring is brilliant, mostly in flat masses, with little modeling or 

 gradation, except in the sky. The first sheet has 25 printings, the second 26, the 

 third 23, including a "blind" impression, which produces an embossed pattern in 

 the garment of one of the figures. 



"Yinaka genji" is the title of a Japanese novel, of which this picture is an illus- 

 tration. 



