Hidehiko Gotō - Printmaker/Master Baren Maker

I'm trying to make my travels to and from Japan as fruitful as possible—through interviews, printing and carving, and by continuing to educate myself about mokuhanga. The goal is to keep improving, to make work I'm truly proud of, and to bring you the highest quality content I'm capable of. On this episode of The Unfinished Print: A Mokuhanga Podcast, I'm joined by Gotō Hidehiko, a mokuhanga printmaker and master baren maker. As most people likely know—or certainly should by now—Gotō-san is one of the finest craftspeople working today. His baren are nothing short of exceptional, spanning a wide range of models and price points. The baren is one of the essential tools of mokuhanga, fundamental to the process and the prints themselves. Join me as I speak with Gotō Hidehiko about his history with mokuhanga and baren making, his relationship with his teacher Kikuo Gosho, and what he learned during his time studying with Gosho-san. We also discuss tools Goto-san has developed to improve mokuhanga printing, as well as how he approaches both mokuhanga and baren making in the present day. I would like to thank Yoshiko Yamamoto of Arts and Crafts Press for her help with translation—without her, this interview would not have been possible. This episode was recorded in Goto-san's studio in Oiso, Kanagawa, Japan. You may hear some background noise, which couldn't be helped. Thank you for your patience. Please follow The Unfinished Print: A Mokuhanga Podcast and my own mokuhanga work on my website andrezadoroznyprints.com Instagram @andrezadoroznyprints or email me [email protected] Notes: may contain a hyperlink. Simply click on the highlighted word or phrase. Artists works follow after the note if available. Pieces are mokuhanga unless otherwise noted. Dimensions are given if known. Print publishers are given if known.  Gotō Hidehiko - Baren Kikuhide website,    Yoshiko Yamamoto - Arts and Crafts Press website Bumpōdō - is an art store based in Tōkyō, Japan, and founded in 1887. The website can be found here, in Japanese. The English pdf, can be found, here.  ategawa - is the "top" portion of the baren, or as David Bull called it, "the backing disc." It is the hard disc made by using layers of, hopefully, aged washi from the Meiji Period or just as old with persimmon juice.  Mokuhankan has a very good description of how a baren is made, here.      © Popular Wheat Productions logo designed and produced by Douglas Batchelor and André Zadorozny  Introduction music while working - Spadina Station live music Disclaimer: Please do not reproduce or use anything from this podcast without shooting me an email and getting my express written or verbal consent. I'm friendly :)