Traces Left by Craftspeople
Exploring the Production of Illustrated Japanese Manuscripts of the 16th and 17th Centuries by Means of Paracontent and Colourants
2019–2022
RFI06
This project explores the manufacture of the 16th- and 17th-century illustrated Japanese manuscripts of literary texts known as Nara ehon. Contrary to many printed books, these manuscripts do not usually contain imprints or colophons. Scribes, painters and other artisans involved in their production are largely unknown and, up to now, information about the production processes themselves remains hypothetical. This project seeks to fill this gap and to paint a broader picture of the production of illustrated manuscripts in a transitional era when manuscripts for leisure reading were, for the first time, produced in great numbers and alongside printed illustrated books. Both phenomena have influenced manuscript production processes profoundly.
By systematically collating manuscripts’ paracontent and backing up the collected data with scientific material analysis of the Nara ehon collection in the Museum für Angewandte Kunst (MAK) in Frankfurt, established hypotheses on the making of Nara ehon can be evaluated for the first time. This allows for developing a typology of Nara ehon producers. Especially the significance of colorants (pigments and dyes) is of interest in the context of mass production and for investigating the division of labour. The combination of a comprehensive analysis of paracontent and material analysis – a first for Nara ehon – can clarify unsolved questions within and contribute substantial information to studies on Japanese manuscript production at a time of change. Eventually, the project serves as an exemplary study of manuscripts during a pivotal historical period in which printed books were gaining momentum on the reader’s market.
People
Project lead: Berenice Möller