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- earliest known examples of colour prints were woodcuts of flowers, fruit, birds and other natural phenomena. These prints, which appeared around 1625, were reproductions of paintings rather than original works of art.
As in China, printing started in Japan asan aid to religious devotions. The earliest recorded mention of Japanese printing dates to the time of Empress Shotoku (748-769), who ordered the production of one million small, three- storey stupas containing printed dharani, or charms. After this there are few recorded instances of printing in Japan until the printing of the Diamond Sutra in 1157 and the great Tripitaka between 1278 and 1288.
Records show that two Chinese woodcut printers were invited to Japan in 1370, and sometime after this marks the first Japanese printing of the Chinese Confucian Classics. However, the Japanese dependence on Chinese printed images and illustrated books remained strong until the late sixteenth century. As far as we know, the first printed copy of an original Japanese text did not appear until the end of the sixteenth century when movable type was used to reproduce a dictionary of Japanese and Chinese terms. Later, the Nihonga (Historical Records) was also reproduced using movable type.
By the Keicho era (1596-1614), the publication of illustrated books on secular subjects became a more common practice in Japan. When the Ise Monogatari (Tales of Ise) was published using movable type in 1608, the illustrations appeared distinctly Japanese in composition and figurai types. By the second half of the seventeenth century, Japanese book illustrations made many major advances and began portraying popular subjects in the distinctive Japanese Kano and Yamato-e painting styles. These book illustrations laid the foundation for the ukiyo-e school, the first major phase in the development of Japanese printmaking.
The first colour prints which appeared in China during the late Ming period were largely reproductions of existing paintings. When the prints arrived in Japan, Japanese printmakers adopted the technique of colour printing, but it appears that the earliest Japanese colour prints were original works of art rather than copies of paintings. Although the perfection of Japanese colour printing developed indepen-
arts, la litt�rature et la philosophie. Cette �volution est due en grande partie � la diffusion de livres imprim�s et peu co�teux � travers le pays entier.
Sous la dynastie mongole des Yuan (1271- 1368), le premier texte d�une pi�ce populaire est �dit�, et vers la fin de la dynastie des Ming (1368-1644), on produit des estampes en couleur. Les exemples les plus anciens qu�on connaisse de planches en couleur sont des gravures sur bois, les sujets �tant les fleurs, les fruits, les oiseaux, et autres ph�nom�nes naturels. Ces estampes, qui ont vu le jour vers 1625, sont des reproductions de tableaux, plut�t que des oeuvres d�art originales.
Tout comme en Chine, l�imprimerie a d�but� au Japon comme aide � la d�votion religieuse. La premi�re mention de l�imprimeriejaponaise date de l��poque de l�Imp�ratrice Shotoku (748-769), qui a command� la production d�un million de petits stupas � trois �tages, renfer�mant des dharanis, ou talismans, imprim�s. Par la suite, il y a peu d�exemples cit�s dans les chroniques de l�imprimerie au Japon, jusqu�� ce qu�on imprime le So�tra du diamant en 1157 et le grand Tripitaka entre 1278 et 1288.
Les archives r�v�lent que deux graveurs sur bois chinois sont invit�s au Japon en 1370, et c�est quelque temps apr�s cette date qu�on fixe la premi�re impression au Japon des classiques confucianistes chinois. Pourtant, les Japonais restent fortement tributaires des Chinois pour les images imprim�es et les livres illustr�s jusqu�� la fin du seizi�me si�cle. Pour autant qu�on sache, le premier exemplaire imprim� d�un texte japonais original n�est paru que vers la fin du seizi�me si�cle lorsque les caract�res mobiles ont servi � imprimer un dictionnaire de mots japonais et chinois. Plus tard, le Nihonga (chronique historique) aussi est imprim� en utilisant des caract�res mobiles.
D�s l��re Keicho (1596-1614), la parution de livres illustr�s consacr�s aux sujets profanes est devenue une pratique plus r�pandue au Japon. En 1608, lorsque I�/se monogatari (Contes d�Ise) est paru, compos� en utilisant les caract�res mobiles, les illustrations pr�sentent des dessins et des personnages d�une trempe tout � fait japonaise. D�s la deuxi�me moiti� du dix-septi�me si�cle, le livre illustr� japonais r�alise des progr�s importants et commence � repr�senter des
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