Pictures at a Hokusai Exhibition

The Asian scholars pause at Oiran and Kamuro.

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Donald: Amazing.

Howard: Incredible.

Donald: In a word, unbelievable.

Howard: The detail.

Donald: And all printed using carved wooden blocks.

Howard: Not just the aesthetics. The technique. No overlap of color. Red finishes where black starts.

Donald: Such accuracy.

Howard: And all this nearly 200 years ago.

Donald: I wonder if they were able to achieve such precise printing because of their attention to detail? Like the finish on Japanese goods today. Obsession with detail. Could it come from the intricacy of their writing system?

Howard: If it comes from characters, why aren’t the Chinese goods similarly well finished?

Donald: Ah. Blows that theory out of the water.

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