ōbōsho 大奉書

A standard large-sized sheet of *hōsho 奉書 paper. Approximately 39 x 53 cm. The paper most frequently used for full-color woodblock prints *nishiki-e 錦絵.The qualities and sizes slightly varies according to the area and period of production. The term honmasa 本政 or simply *masa 柾 seem to have been applied to the best quality ōbōsho paper produced in Echizen 越前 (Fukui Prefecture). Today printers sometimes still use the term masaban 政判 for an ōbōsho sheet. The major format sizes cut from ōbōsho paper are: *ōban 大判, *chūban 中判, *chōban 長判, *shikishiban 色紙判,*tanzakuban 短冊判, and ōbaiban 大倍判 (see *baiban 倍判).