JAPAN
than the middle of the eighth century. Nothing like proficiency was attained, however, until the time (1320) of a priest named Ryōkin, and even his productions—a few of which are extant—derive interest from their period rather than their quality.[1] All the motives of the early woodcuts were religious. The blocks, being preserved in temples, served for printing pictures of deities which were distributed to pilgrim worshippers. Apparently the idea of using engravings for illustrating printed matter did not suggest itself until the sixteenth century, but from that time woodcuts began to be freely inserted in the pages of historical romances, poetical anthologies, and other kinds of literature. These pictures were not remarkable. Draughtsmen of talent did not concern themselves in their production, and it was not until the last quarter of the seventeenth century that xylography began to be applied to really artistic purposes. Hishigawa Moronobu and Okamura Masanobu were the two artists who supplied drawings for this new departure. Their work was vigorous, their composition clever, and the engraver did his part so well that woodcuts of really high merit were produced. Almost immediately the potentialities of this branch of art were recognised, and a number of very beautiful albums appeared, chiefly from the brushes of Ooka Shunboku and Tachibana no Morikumi. They contained accurate copies of pictures by the great Chinese and Japanese masters of previous eras, as well as lessons for young painters and suggestions for decorative designs covering the whole range of applied art. Another extensive field for the employment of woodcuts was the popular novel, which grew out of
- ↑ See Appendix, note 7.
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