Samurai Prints

Samurai Prints is a section of our website where you can find prints depicting Samurai or related to the Samurai culture in some way. Samurai prints as any other prints are not just copies of paintings, but rather unique impressions of particular artworks. Printmaking is not the process to create copies of a painting, but rather to get unique qualities that each of the prints would possess after printing.

A surface that is used for making prints is called a matrix, and depending on the type of the material used for the matrix, there will be different techniques for creating prints. Some of the common types are engraving and etching that is done on plates of copper or zinc; lithography with carvings on stone; woodcuts are made with blocks of wood; screen-printing is done on fabric; and linocuts are made with linoleum matrices.

Samurai prints, especially created in the modern time, can be made using any kind of printing technique, but for more traditional prints, a traditional Japanese printing technique called Ukiyo-e can be used. Ukiyo-e, translated as "pictures of the floating world", is a kind of Japanese woodblock printmaking (also called woodcuts). It was used for paintings as well and was in use in Japan from the 17th to 20th century. Ukiyo-e was not only used to make Samurai prints, but also for making motifs of landscapes, theatrical scenes, and historical events. As this technique was suitable for mass-production, Ukiyo-e prints were more affordable for middle and low class townsmen. The prints featured portraits of popular actors, famous samurai, and beautiful courtesans.

As all Japanese arts, making Ukiyo-e Samurai prints was a sophisticated and complex process involving skills, precision, and imagination. The prints were most popular during the Edo and Meiji periods and were produced until the beginning of the 20th century. The founder of the style was Hishikawa Moronobu with his single-colour works that he's done in 1670s.

Samurai prints are popular collector's items: they're more affordable and available then original paintings, yet they're original enough to be treated on the individual bases. Whether you're a print collector or just interested in Japanese history and culture, you can find many interesting items in this section.

You can see current listings for Samurai Prints here: