aizuri　藍摺

KEY WORD :　art history / paintings

Also *ai-e 藍絵 or aizuri-e 藍摺絵. A type of woodblock print *ukiyo-e 浮世絵. Originally referring to prints produced with various shades of indigo blue, but later used more broadly to include prints with vermilion or yellow pigments, as well. In 1841, the Tokugawa 徳川 government banned the use of extravagant colors in woodblock prints *nishiki-e 錦絵, and it has been suggested that aizuri prints became popular as an alternative to such prints. However, extant aizuri prints by the famous artist Katsushika Hokusai 葛飾北斎 (1760-1849) indicate that this technique was popular even before the 1841 ban. Other sources claim that naturally-produced aizuri became popular as an alternative to the bright blue dyes (Prussian blue, also called Berlin blue *berorin-ai ベロリン藍) imported from the West during this period. Single-colored aizuri prints were cheaper to produce than multi-colored prints.

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