242 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1892. 



ese wood-cutting', even to the finest lines in the most delicate black- 

 and-white facsimile work, is done vvitli the one clumsy knife repre- 

 sented in Fig. 1. We know from Papillon's book that he found it nec- 

 essary to use three grades of knives, according to the grade of work to 

 be executed, and we naturally arrive at the conclusion that the Japan- 

 ese woodcutter alsoac commodates his knife to his work. Neverthe- 

 less, Mr. Tokuno replies to a direct question on this point: " Our 

 engraving on wood depends wholly on the skill of the engravers. With 

 only one knife, such as that sent you, they can execute all grades of 

 work, from the roughest to the finest. We therefore have no other 

 kind of knife." 



The answers given to questions regarding the difficulties which con- 

 front the Japanese printer, and which to us would seem insurmounta- 

 ble, are of the same tenor. It seems impossible to prevent smearing, 

 with blocks having great shallow hollows, inked with a brush, and 

 therefore charged with color, not only on the parts left standing in 

 relief, but also in the depressions, and with the thin moist paper used, 

 held down on the plank with one hand, while the other guides the 

 " baren." To the question whether any special precautions are adopted 

 to prevent smearing, Mr. Tokuno replies: ''Although smearing from 

 the depressions in the block seems almost unavoidable, experienced 

 printers, nevertheless, work without fear of it, and there is no special 

 way of preventing it." Again, to the question whether mechanical 

 means are not used for registering, the reply is: " Our priuters use no 

 mechanical means whatever, depending simply upon experience/' To 

 illustrate this point, a water-color drawing was sent, of which Plate xm 

 is a reproduction. To the inquiry, how it is possible to print with 

 water-colors on moist paper, keep the paper moist to prevent contrac- 

 tion, and lay the sheets on top of one another without offsetting, the 

 answer given is: "This can only be done well by an experienced 

 printer," to which laconic statement a few technical points are added, 

 which have already been given in Mr. Tokuno's communication. 



A visitor to the U. S. National Museum, who sees, for the first time, and 

 without explanation, the exhibit of Japanese wood-cutting and wood-cut 

 printing, the whole (except theprinted speeiniensand thedrawings illus- 

 trating tools, etc.) crowded into a case measuring about -1 by 3J by 2A feet, 

 will most probably take it for granted that he has before him a collection 

 of miniature models. In this assumption he would, however, be grossly 

 mistaken. Considerably more room would, of course, be needed to 

 arrange the tools, etc., for practical working use, but both the tools and 

 the materials shown are actually those employed by the wood-cutters 

 and printers of Japan. It needs only to think of the heavy machinery 

 used by our printers, even by those who confine themselves to taking 

 proofs for wood-engravers, to realize the contrast between the methods 

 of Japan and our own. Other occasions for comparing these methods 

 have been brought out by the questions addressed to Mr. Tokuno, as 



