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Table 1 Colourants used for the production of woodblock prints in the late Edo Period in Japan

From: Developing a systematic approach to determine the sequence of impressions of Japanese woodblock prints: the case of Hokusai’s ‘Red Fuji’

Colour

Colourants

Blue

Ai (indigo), bero-ai (Prussian blue), aobana (dayflower)

Yellow

Kihada (Armur cork tree), sekiō (orpiment), ōdo (earth pigment), tōō (gamboge), ukon (turmeric), zumi (briar or crabapple)

Red

Bengara (earth pigment), beni (safflower), shōenji (lac), shu (vermillion), suō (sappanwood), tan (red lead)

Black

Sumi (plant soot)

White

Enpaku (white lead), gofun (shell white)

  1. Other colours (e.g. green and purple) were obtained by mixing. When there are several alternative names for a colourant, the Japanese name given here is the one listed in [31]