aka-e 赤絵

Also akazuri-e 赤摺絵 and *hōsō-e 疱瘡絵. Woodblock prints produced in the latter half of the 19th century, which employed inexpensive imported aniline dyes. The colors, especially reds and purples produced by chemical dyes, were brighter and harsher than colors produced by traditional mineral or plant pigments. Art connoisseurs today judge these colors to be of poorer quality than traditional dyes, but they were popular in their time.