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Revision as of 00:56, 7 September 2015
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Publishers owned the rights to reproduce works for which they owned the woodblocks. It was this possession of the woodblocks, known as ''zôhan'' (蔵版), whether physically or simply in name, by contract, that served as the rough equivalent to modern concepts of copyright, which were not introduced until the Meiji period. The idea of "intellectual property" as enforced today was not legally protected in any way at that time, and "artists," or, rather, illustrators hired by or otherwise working with publishers, had very little rights over reproduction of their works. In fact, publishers frequently repackaged illustrators' works, republishing them under new titles, sometimes mixed with illustrations from other publications, and sometimes cropped or otherwise altered; publishers also frequently sold woodblocks (or the ''zôhan'' rights to them) to other publishers, who might then reissue new editions.
Publishers owned the rights to reproduce works for which they owned the woodblocks. It was this possession of the woodblocks, known as ''zôhan'' (蔵版), whether physically or simply in name, by contract, that served as the rough equivalent to modern concepts of copyright, which were not introduced until the Meiji period. The idea of "intellectual property" as enforced today was not legally protected in any way at that time, and "artists," or, rather, illustrators hired by or otherwise working with publishers, had very little rights over reproduction of their works. In fact, publishers frequently repackaged illustrators' works, republishing them under new titles, sometimes mixed with illustrations from other publications, and sometimes cropped or otherwise altered; publishers also frequently sold woodblocks (or the ''zôhan'' rights to them) to other publishers, who might then reissue new editions.
Blocks were often lost in fires, but could be remade using a technique called ''kabusebori'' (被せ彫り), so long as copies of the book were extant. The book would be disassembled, and each leaf would be traced or cut through to produce a new block. This technique was also widely used to make illegal "pirated" copies of books, which one could then sell as one's own.
===Pigments===
===Pigments===
