Step Nine ...

Decorative 'wheel' kimono pattern ... Nothing 'weak' about this print, is there! This is another 'double impression' - done this time though, not with a weakened pigment, but with a thickened and very sticky black 'neri-zumi'. The result is just about as deep a black as can possibly be printed. (This has the slightly negative effect of making the hair look less black, but if I were to use this rich pigment for that job, the delicate hairs would have all been lost ...)

This pretty well wraps up the printing on the main image on this print, but don't you think that the background looks awfully bare? Two blocks left to go ...