Ukiyo-e prints were made using the following procedure:
The artist produced a master drawing in ink
An assistant, called a hikkō, would then create a tracing (hanshita) of the master
Craftsmen glued the hanshita face-down to a block of wood and cut away the areas where the paper was white. This left the drawing, in reverse, as a relief print on the block, but destroyed the hanshita.
This block was inked and printed, making near-exact copies of the original drawing.
A first test copy, called a kyōgo-zuri, would be given to the artist for a final check.
The prints were in turn glued, face-down, to blocks and those areas of the design which were to be printed in a particular color were left in relief. Each of these blocks printed at least one color in the final design.
The resulting set of woodblocks were inked in different colors and sequentially impressed onto paper. The final print bore the impressions of each of the blocks, some printed more than once to obtain just the right depth of color.