Written on June 16, 1989 [Permalink]

June 16

No, no carving today. Instead, we went out to Hachioji to visit the printer Kenji Seki, and what a day it was! He was doing sumi today, which means that he was free to spend time with us (After printing the sumi block, he waits a day before putting colour on). Actually, he didn't get very far. After about the first 10 impressions, he got frustrated with trying to work and explain at the same time, wrapped up the paper, and devoted the next 6 hours to us. Presumably, he must have finished the sumi job in the evening, after we left.

He got started talking about pigments, began dragging bottles and jars out of the closet, and ended up giving us a giant (I mean giant!) bag full of packages of colours. A couple of the packages (the real 'kuchi-beni', and a kind of poisonous yellow) are very rare, actually unobtainable anywhere these days. It was a mad scene, with his wife running around trying to find more plastic bags, him talking non-stop, Michiyo trying to understand and explain to me, and me scribbling in my notebook as fast as possible.

Things moved on to barens after a while, and he gave a demonstration of wrapping the bamboo sheath. He asked about my baren(s), and when he heard the awful truth, went to his drawer, chose a ratty, smelly old thing and laid it on me. It's a fantastic gift, a chipped, aged ategawa and baren coil dating from 'sometime in Meiji'. He would never use it again, and to me, it is a priceless treasure. The coil is very finely wound, so I don't think it will do for colour printing, but maybe it will suit the sumi ban. We'll see!

He then trooped us downstairs, and got out some boxes of prints. He very proudly showed us samples of his work. The stuff is really very good, some of it incredibly complex in the iro-wake. He seems to be proudest of his printings for Ted Colyer. The stuff is all printed on amazingly thick paper, involving a physical exertion that would be totally beyond my reach. As if his 'donations to our cause' upstairs hadn't been enough, he then gave us a Colyer print, and four traditional Japanese designs (Hasui, etc.)! We just didn't know what to say to him. I guess he was happy to have someone there to admire his work, but that sounds too cynical - he simply seems to be a big-hearted, generous guy.

We had a thoroughly enjoyable and informative discussion with him. He shocked me by telling us (in answer to my question) that he gets a mere ¥1,000 for each copy of the Hasui prints that he does for the downtown publisher! ¥1,000! I would have guessed three times that amount. For the large Colyer prints he did, that would have sold for many tens of thousands of yen, he got only about ¥2,300. I was disturbed, but he seemed quite philosophical about it. I was also surprised to learn how much of the creative input into making the Okamoto and Colyer prints was his, and how little credit (none!) he gets for it. If he hadn't been able to sell some family property in Tokyo some years ago, and buy a big house in Hachioji, he would be just scraping by.

He apparently started an apprenticeship when he was 15, and stayed for 10 years, before breaking out on his own. He's really part of the line going right back to Edo times, and he's an incredible storehouse of information and techniques. I feel a bit of a problem now, how to be able to spend more time with him, without seeming as if I'm looking for more 'donations'! Gifts aside, it was a very interesting day ... and with the pigments, baren and prints (and a couple of dozen bamboo sheaths) as well ... simply an amazing experience!

We were late getting away (he drove us to the station at about 4:00), and we arrived at the Hoikuen in the pouring rain, with no umbrellas or raincoats. I got home about 10 minutes before the first students of the evening showed up, and had to wing the first class ...