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How did embossing appear in Japanese woodcuts?

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Mary Cassatt: Woman Bathing — Printmaking *Woman Bathing*, color aquatint with drypoint by Mary Cassatt, 1890–91; in the Art Institute of Chicago.

In the context of Japanese woodcuts, embossing—often referred to as goufrage or blind pressing—was used to decorate specific sections of a print without the use of ink.1

This technique involves pressing the paper into a relief surface to create a raised pattern, which relies on the interplay of light and shadow to define the design rather than color. While traditional woodcuts are primarily known for their inked relief surfaces, this specialized application allowed artists to add subtle, tactile dimensions to their work.1