Adachi's Meticulous Quality and Materials

The Adachi Institute of Woodcut Prints selects a traditional Japanese hand-made paper called Kizuki hosho, made by Mr. Ichibei Iwano who is a living national treasure.
This paper is made from 100% paper-mulberry pulp. It is highly durable and an ideal material for Japanese traditional woodcut prints which requires multiple layers of color in its printing process. It 　also brings vivid and warm colors which is one of the charms of Japanese traditional woodcut prints.

The woodblock is made from the wild mountain cherry tree which has very hard-grain. It is the best material for the woodcut printing which is often used for mass production.

Mineral and botanical pigments are mainly used.
In addition to black (sumi), red, blue and yellow are the three primary colors. The printer creates desirable colors to mix these primary colors together.

The kogatana knife is representing the carving itself. It is used to cut the outlines of the drawing and its blade is sharpen thinner than paper which makes it possible to carve super fine lines.

The chisels are used to carve unnecessary areas away.
The carver choses the different blade size of chisels for the area where he works.

The baren rubbing pad is a unique tool for the woodcut printing and used to impress pigments into the delicate fibers of washi paper. The baren rubbing pad consists of three parts, the case made of thick layers of washi paper, the woven rope made of bamboo skins and the wrapper made from bamboo skins.

The printer uses different size and shape of brushes for the areas where he applies the colors on the woodblock. Horse hair is used for these brushes.