edehon　絵手本

KEY WORD :　art history / paintings

Lit. painting model. A prototype, or more commonly, a modelbook produced by a master painter for his students or for people who want to learn to paint. Edehon originated in the late Muromachi period and were executed on thin sheets of paper which were pasted together, side by side. Today it is common to cut them up and preserve each sheet separately. A painted modelbook was often treasured from generation to generation by schools of art like *Kanouha 狩野派. The principle that copying a model was the fundamental way of learning how to paint funpon shugi 粉本主義 prevailed. In addition to painted copybooks, woodblock-printed edehon were produced in great numbers by every school of painting in the Edo period due to the greater demands and the development of printing techniques for mass production. Because picture books *ehon 絵本 were popular in the 18c and 19c, they could also be used as models for paintings. The distinction between ehon and edehon can be difficult. Not surprisingly, edehon themselves became the subject of art appreciation. Katsushika Hokusai 葛飾北斎 (1760-1849), for example, published volumes of the Hokusai manga 北斎漫画 (Hokusai's Cartoons) over many years to serve as a teaching aid for people wanting to learn how to draw and paint. These drawings of the scenes from everyday life have been appreciated as masterpieces.

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