It’s been roughly 350 years since the advent of Ukiyo-e, and 38 years since the original Star Wars film. Finally someone has brought the two together into an epic space opera that combines distinguished painting, excellent craftsmanship and, of course, the Force.
The horishi (sculptor) carves the omohan based on the original painting. There are individual irohan woodblocks for each color.
Details of the carving
The limited edition Star Wars Ukiyo-e prints were created not just in an aesthetic that harkens back to Meiji era Japan, but also with the same skill, dedication and collaboration. Ukiyo-e is an art centered around the division of labor among the eshi (painter), horishi (carver) and surishi (printer). Together, these skilled craftsman created 3 different scenes from Star Wars, each in a limited edition run of 200. And the imagery is all licensed from Lucas Films.
The project itself was launched on Japanese crowdfunding site Makuake, with project backers putting up 54,000 yen (about $440) to purchase a single print. The full set at 162,000 yen (about $1300) is already sold out, as is the Darth Vader print, but if you can navigate the Japanese site the 2 other prints are still available.
A scene during the The Battle of Hoth. Each piece was given a traditional Japanese title. In this case, it’s 星間大戦絵巻 惑星補巣の戦い
a half-length portrait of Darth Vader. The characters 堕悪巣俾荼 were chosen to phonetically spell out his name.
a portrait of Padmé Amidala. It was created in the Bijin-ga (“beautiful person picture”) style. At her feet is R2-D2 and in the corner is Anakin Skywalker.
