Woodblock printing is a technique in which wooden blocks (stamps) are used to print patterns onto fabric.

The blocks are carved from wood, and dyes, mordants, or resist agents are applied directly to the fabric through stamping.

Irregularities such as slight misalignments or fading—characteristic of handwork—create a warm and charming expression.

Distinct styles of woodblock printing exist all over the world, but India’s block printing is especially well known as a representative example.

The use of stamps is believed to have originated in ancient Mesopotamia.

Unique styles of seals and stamps developed in Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Indus Valley, and China.

*For a detailed history of stamps, see here.

India has had an advanced textile industry since ancient times.

Remarkably, fragments of cotton fabric discovered at Mohenjo-daro were dyed with madder (red). 

Dyeing plant fibers with natural dyes is notoriously difficult!

Around BC - AD, techniques combining mordants—which chemically fix plant dyes—with woodblocks had already developed.

Fragments of woodblock-printed fabrics, believed to have originated in India, have also been excavated in Ahmim, Egypt(around 4th century).

Subsequently, block printing in India spread to other parts of the world.

From the Mawangdui Han Tombs(2nd century B.C. Western Han), fabrics printed using woodblocks have been excavated.

Before the widespread use of paper, woodblock techniques were already established for decorating cloth.

By the Sui and Tang dynasties(7th century), as paper became more common, printing techniques were adapted from cloth to paper.

Buddhist sutras and other texts were mass-produced, and around the 8th century, these techniques were introduced to Japan along with Buddhism from China(Tang).

A notable example is the “One Million Pagoda and Dharani Prayers” completed in 770 CE, considered one of the oldest surviving printed texts with a clearly known printing date in the world.

In this way, woodblock printing evolved from decorating cloth to a technique for reproducing information.

From the 17th century onward, Indian block prints became extremely popular in Europe, creating such high demand that imports were temporarily banned to protect local industries.

Subsequently, the cylinder printing machine was invented in UK, marking the shift from handwork to mechanized mass production—effectively igniting the Industrial Revolution.

Even today, block printing continues to be produced across India, with each region offering distinctive characteristics and popular traditional crafts.

▲from India

Woodblock dyeing was introduced to Japan during the Nara period(710-794), around the same time that papermaking and printing techniques were being adopted, in a method known as Kyōkechi.

Unlike Indian block printing, which uses raised stamps, Kyōkechi involves sandwiching the fabric between two carved wooden blocks and pouring the dye, a technique known as itajime(clamp-resist dyeing).

From the Muromachi period(1336-1573) through the Edo period(1603-1868), Indian block-printed fabrics were imported to Japan via foreign merchant ships, along with other types of calico.

However, woodblock dyeing did not become mainstream in Japan.

Because Japan produced high-quality washi paper, katazome (stencil dyeing using papers) allowed for finer patterns and was more efficient.

During the Keichō era(1596–1615), Kyuzan Douzei immigrated from Korea and said to have established techniques that combined woodblocks and stencils.

This technique developed under the protection of the Nabeshima Domain (All of present-day Saga and part of Nagasaki Prefecture), becoming known as Nabeshima Sarasa, some of the techniques were passed down orally.

After Meiji Restoration(1868), the practice of presenting these textiles as tribute ended, and the craft nearly disappeared by the early 20th century.

In the early Showa period(1926-1989), dyeing experts such as Teruji Suzuta revived the technique, and today it is preserved in Saga Prefecture as Mokuhan-zuri Sarasa.

Sarasa refers to cotton fabrics dyed in styles imported from India or Europe to Japan.

From the mid-Edo period onward, Japan developed its own techniques, mainly stencil-resist dyeing, to imitate sarasa, producing cotton fabrics called Wazarasa.

Maizuru Studio’s woodblock printing originated from Japanese seal engraving techniques.

The workshop applies the tools and skills of seal carving, which may result in differences from conventional woodblock printing.

Blocks are carved using seal knives, and patterns are stamped onto fabric.

At present, the designs are not calculated as continuous patterns; rather, motifs are stamped according to the intended use or the maker’s mood, creating a playful and flexible approach.

Out of respect for Nabeshima Sarasa, stencil dyeing is also incorporated.

Unlike the dynamic and colorful expression of Indian block prints, the work may be  characterized by stable and precise outlines.

The techniques may evolve over time, but this is the current approach at Maizuru Studio.