Nishiki-e is the Japanese term for full-color ukiyo-e woodblock printing made with multiple color blocks. It is also commonly translated as “brocade picture” because of its rich, multicolored appearance.
Each color or special effect generally required a separate carved woodblock. Printers aligned the sheets using registration marks called kentō, allowing several impressions to form one precise image. The method made detailed colors, gradients, and complex patterns possible while retaining the repeatability of woodblock printing.
Nishiki-e is associated with the development of full-color prints in the eighteenth century, especially through Suzuki Harunobu’s work in the 1760s. It should not be confused with sumizuri-e, which uses black ink, or tan-e, an earlier style with hand-applied orange coloring.