Suzuki Harunobu introduced full-color nishiki-e printing in Edo around 1765.
Nishiki-e, often called “brocade pictures,” used multiple carved woodblocks to print a single image in many carefully registered colors. Harunobu’s work helped establish the technique as a major form of ukiyo-e, replacing the limited palettes of earlier multicolor formats with richer and more delicate effects.
The development was connected with privately commissioned New Year prints and the culture of wealthy Edo patrons. Printers had to align each color block accurately, a process known as registration, so that the layers formed one coherent image.
The date is conventionally given as 1765, although technical development was gradual rather than the result of one isolated invention. Harunobu’s elegant young figures and soft color harmonies became especially influential in the early nishiki-e period.