How many impressions were made of each print?
The standard number of prints in a commercial edition was probably much higher than many present-day collectors would like to admit. Some writers on ukiyo-e suggest that a standard edition of 200 was the likely number for the first commercial run of a ukiyo-e print design. This number is based partly on how many impressions could be completed within about a week’s time by a single printer for an edition of an unexceptional full-color print design. Kawasaki Kyosen, the son of the late-period Osaka master Ichiyôsai Yoshitaki (1841-1899), wrote a commentary titled Nishiki-e ni naru made (“How color prints are made”) in which he mentioned that the initial stack of impressions from a first edition would number about 200 impressions. After that, additional impressions were made on demand, in groups of 200. The implication was that if the demand were high enough, many editions would be printed, amounting to thousands of impressions, until the images finally stopped selling. Some researchers c
