Japanese Woodblock Printmaking Kit

Japanese Woodblock Printmaking Kit

Explore Japanese woodblock printing, or mokuhanga, with a Michihamono kit that brings together tools for carving, preparing colour and printing by hand. Choose Standard for a five-tool selection and plastic baren, or Premium for seven WOODY tools and a bamboo-sheath Sosaku Sumi baren. Both options include the same core brushes, transfer materials and starting printmaking supplies.

Choose Standard or Premium

• Standard: five WOODY carving tools comprising a flat chisel, skew knife, 3 mm and 6 mm U-gouges and a 3 mm V-gouge, plus a plastic baren.
• Premium: seven WOODY tools, adding a 7.5 mm round-edged flat chisel and 9 mm U-gouge to the Standard tool selection, plus a Sosaku Sumi baren.

Included in both kits

• Two 15 mm Hake brushes and two carrying brushes.
• Two plastic trays and a paint set.
• Shina plywood block and a non-slip mat.
• A4 tracing paper and A6 carbon paper.
• Five postcard-size printing sheets.
• Protective caps for the carving tools.
• Original instruction text supervised by Hikosaka Woodblock Studio, supplied in Japanese.

From a drawing to your first impression

Start with a clear, simple motif and plan the areas that should print. Transfer your drawing onto the plywood, carve away the background and use the trays and brushes to prepare and apply colour. The baren transfers the design to the paper by hand pressure, so a printing press is not needed for this process.

Take a trial impression before refining the block. Comparing the print with your drawing helps you judge which marks to keep and where to clear more material. The supplied printing sheets provide a starting quantity for learning the process; plan additional paper if you want to produce a larger series.

Helpful guides

Japanese woodblock printing · Setting up a printmaking workspace