Editor's comments ...

The 'rule' in the Japanese tradition is to leave a gap equivalent to the width of three fingers side by side. Many of the carved blocks illustrated in Mr. Fletcher's book show very little space left around each carved area. This means that he must have used only the smallest of brushes, considerably slowing down the work. It also means that the baren easily strikes the nearby uncarved wood, and even though he suggests sanding these edges, ugly marks are still easily produced in the print.