Changes

===Tokugawa Period===

===Tokugawa Period===

Moveable-type printing technology was introduced to Japan via Korea in the 1590s, essentially stolen along with many other technologies, and artisans, by forces participating in [[Korean Invasions|Hideyoshi's invasions of Korea]]. The Korean presses used metal type, but the Japanese quickly moved to carving type blocks out of wood; roughly 300 titles were produced in the 1590s-1630s using moveable type,<ref>Smith. pp333-334.</ref> but afterwards, for a variety of reasons, moveable type was all but abandoned in Japan in favor of woodblock printing, which made use of single pieces of wood for a full page, or two pages<ref>In the most common Japanese book format, pages were printed ''recto'' and ''verso'', meaning that a single block was not used to print facing pages visible in a given opening of the book, but rather, that a given 'left page' would be printed along with the following page, i.e. the 'right page' of the next opening, with the folded edge of the page, known as ''hashira'' in Japanese, being the center of the (pre-folding/pre-binding) printed sheet.</ref>.

Moveable-type printing technology was introduced to Japan via Korea in the 1590s, essentially stolen along with many other technologies, and artisans, by forces participating in [[Korean Invasions|Hideyoshi's invasions of Korea]]. The Korean presses used metal type, but the Japanese quickly moved to carving type blocks out of wood. Roughly 300 titles were produced in the 1590s-1630s using moveable type,<ref>Smith. pp333-334.</ref> including the [[Saga-bon]] associated with [[Honami Koetsu|Hon'ami Kôetsu]], made using wooden type blocks, but afterwards, for a variety of reasons, moveable type was all but abandoned in Japan in favor of woodblock printing, which made use of single pieces of wood for a full page, or two pages<ref>In the most common [[Wahon|Japanese book]] format, pages were printed ''recto'' and ''verso'', meaning that a single block was not used to print facing pages visible in a given opening of the book, but rather, that a given 'left page' would be printed along with the following page, i.e. the 'right page' of the next opening, with the folded edge of the page, known as ''hashira'' in Japanese, being the center of the (pre-folding/pre-binding) printed sheet.</ref>.

Scholars cite a number of potential reasons for the dominance of woodblocks over moveable type in early modern Japan. Japanese calligraphic script, and the way it was integrated into the composition of a page alongside images, was more well-suited to woodblocks, as moveable type would have demanded a shift from long strings of connected ([[running script]]) calligraphy to separated, distinct characters which could be printed each from a separate type block. Woodblock printing also allowed for the inclusion, for example, of glosses such as what is today called ''furigana'' - small syllabic ''[[kana]]'' characters placed next to the logographic ''[[kanji]]'' to identify the reading. This provided not only the pronunciation in the strictest sense of the word - meaning, the sound, and thus the ability to read the word out loud - but also served, often, as an important indication of the identity or meaning of a phrase, since one generally knows one's mother tongue more natively or fluently by sound rather than by visuals. While moveable type works best with strict grids of characters, the inclusion of such glosses, at a smaller size, and nestled up next to the "main" columns of text, called for either a much more complex system of moveable type, or for woodblocks carved for a whole page - text, glosses, images, and all.

Scholars cite a number of potential reasons for the dominance of woodblocks over moveable type in early modern Japan. Japanese calligraphic script, and the way it was integrated into the composition of a page alongside images, was more well-suited to woodblocks, as moveable type would have demanded a shift from long strings of connected ([[running script]]) calligraphy to separated, distinct characters which could be printed each from a separate type block. Woodblock printing also allowed for the inclusion, for example, of glosses such as what is today called ''furigana'' - small syllabic ''[[kana]]'' characters placed next to the logographic ''[[kanji]]'' to identify the reading. This provided not only the pronunciation in the strictest sense of the word - meaning, the sound, and thus the ability to read the word out loud - but also served, often, as an important indication of the identity or meaning of a phrase, since one generally knows one's mother tongue more natively or fluently by sound rather than by visuals. While moveable type works best with strict grids of characters, the inclusion of such glosses, at a smaller size, and nestled up next to the "main" columns of text, called for either a much more complex system of moveable type, or for woodblocks carved for a whole page - text, glosses, images, and all.

==See Also==

==See Also==

*[[Printing in China]]

*[[Printing in China]]

 

[[Category:Edo Period]]

[[Category:Edo Period]]

[[Category:Culture]]

[[Category:Culture]]

[[Category:Economics]]

[[Category:Economics]]