Early Masters - The Floating World of Ukiyo-e

"The earliest Ukiyo-e prints date from about 1600. These early works were monochromatic, with the design laid out in bold black lines. Beginning in the seventeenth century, artists began to add color by hand, including red, blue, yellow, and orange. They also began to experiment with light-catching textures. With the advent of multicolor printing around the mid-eighteenth century, single prints were built up in layers of aligned blocks, each carrying different colors and pieces of design. Erotic works and images of actors and beautiful women were common subjects in early Ukiyo-e. Also popular were themes from Japanese myth, legend, literature, and history.
Ukiyo-e prints by early masters working from about 1600 to 1740 were issued in limited numbers and are extremely rare today. The Library of Congress collection contains many examples of these so-called 'primitives' by early Ukiyo-e masters of the seventeenth century."

Beyond Ukiyo-e: Modern and Contemporary Japanese Prints - The Floating World of Ukiyo-e

Shin Hanga, or "new prints," were produced in the time-honored way of Ukiyo-e woodblocks, with a publisher commissioning designs from the artist and the actual carving of the woodblocks and printing being done by professional artisans. Shin Hanga prints often refer to traditional subjects, such as landscapes and beautiful women.

The overriding concern of artists in the Sôsaku Hanga, or "creative prints" movement is toward the new and original. Sôsaku Hanga artists are involved in the entire printmaking process and design, cut, color, and print their own works either personally or by direct supervision.