The steps that are needed to create an ukiyo-e print
Creating Ukiyo-e prints took an extreme amount of work and effort out of the eshi (painter), horishi (sculptor), surishi (printer), and hanmoto (publisher). Because of all the little details in each print, these workers had to be very meticulous when creating them (How an Ukiyo-e is Created). Producing Ukiyo-e was a long process and the prints took awhile before being published.
The publisher commissions an artist
The Eshi (painter) draws a sketch on Japanese paper
The design is transferred onto a transparent sheet of paper
The carver pastes the paper onto the woodblock and starts carving
Oil or ink is sometimes used on the paper to make the sketch more visible
The engraver cuts the wood around the lines of the design
A baren is applied over the paper to reflect the design onto the wood