第五代 · 木版画工房 · 金沢
A fifth-generation woodblock studio
The tide,
held in paper.
Since 1871, our family has carved the weather of the Sea of Japan into blocks of mountain cherry and printed it by hand in Kanazawa.
版は、記憶する
A block
remembers every tide.
Our oldest key block still carries the salt-darkened thumbprint of Ishizaki Gen’emon, who cut it after the great winter storm of 1871. We do not retire it. We listen to where the cherrywood has softened, then lower the baren and print around its history.
36impressions
One shore, watched through a turning year. The current series is printed in small, numbered runs from the same four blocks.
Foam at Noon
Edition of 28 · 5 blocksIron Water
Edition of 24 · 3 blocksNorth Window
Edition of 18 · 4 blocks“The colour is never on the block. It appears in the moment the paper answers.”— Reiko Ishizaki, printer
摺師 · 刷毛 · 馬連
From plank to proof
Three hands, one current.
We keep the old division of labour because each role hears a different thing in the wood: line, colour, and pressure.
Draw the water
Mio begins with a brush drawing, leaving room for the grain to interrupt her. The final line is transferred face-down to the key block.
Carve the weather
Daichi follows the line with seven knives, pausing whenever the cherry rings turn tight. A white curl can take an afternoon; a careless cut lasts forever.
Print the answer
Reiko brushes pigment, paste, and water into the block. Registration corners receive the paper. The baren rolls in small circles until the wave comes through.
試し摺り · 手で確かめる
Pull a proof.
Move the baren from a first kiss of the key block to a full pull. Each layer finds the paper at a different pressure.
Bench proof · 03 / 03
Pressure is a kind of listening.
The paper is aligned; no pigment has transferred.
今季の版 · 2026
The press ledger
Available work is released only once the final sheet has dried flat. A red mark means the edition has closed.
KW-26/01Wind at OgiPrussian indigo, sumi, vermilion12 / 36 remaining
KW-26/02Foam at NoonIndigo on Echizen kozo7 / 28 remaining
KW-25/08Iron WaterSumi and mica over indigored mark · closed
KW-25/11North WindowIndigo, gofun, vermilion3 / 18 remaining
Come in from the rain
See the colour before it dries.
The studio is open Thursday–Sunday, 11:00–17:00. We show printing at 14:00 when an edition is on the bench. Ring the brass bell at Higashi Chaya 1–14–8.
Request a studio appointment ↗