The first full-color ukiyo-e prints, known as nishiki-e or “brocade pictures,” appeared in 1765. The technique was perfected and popularized by Suzuki Harunobu, whose elegant prints used multiple blocks to create richly colored images.
Before nishiki-e, ukiyo-e developed through several stages. Early prints were generally monochrome, while some were hand-colored after printing. By the 1740s, artists and printers were making limited-color prints with separate blocks, often using restricted palettes such as pink and green. Nishiki-e represented a major technical advance because a separate block could be carved for each color and carefully aligned on the paper.
The breakthrough was connected to privately commissioned calendar prints in Edo. Harunobu’s designs transformed these technically demanding images into fashionable commercial prints, making complex color printing attractive to a wider public. Some nishiki-e required ten or more blocks, along with precise registration to prevent colors from slipping out of place.
A common mix-up is treating 1765 as the invention of all color printing in Japan. Color printing and hand-coloring existed earlier; 1765 marks the emergence of fully developed, multiblock color ukiyo-e associated with nishiki-e.