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20th Century Shin-hanga, with works from Hasui, Yoshida, Goyo, Koson, Hakuho, Shinsui, Keith, Shotei and more

Modern prints from the early 20th century fall into two categories Shin-hanga, or "new woodcut prints", and Sosaku-hanga "creative prints", a parallel movement in which the artist took control of the entire production of their woodblocks, (from initial design, to carved blocks, and finally printing). These artists also pushed the boundaries of traditional ukiyo-e subject matter.  Both the Shin-hanga, and Sosaku-hanga movements started in the early 1900's, although the movements evolved separately as the artists in the Shin-hanga movement wanted to revive the traditional ways of the old ukiyo-e masters such as Hokusai, Hiroshige, and others.

 

Perhaps one of the most famous artists of the "new prints" was  Kawase Hasui. His art was influence largely by Ando Hiroshige's style of "travel prints", where Hiroshige would travel around Japan and visit famous landmarks, sketching each landmark for eventual production such as his series, "53 Stations of the Tokaido". Hasui developed his own style from Hiroshige, as he would often travel to unknown locations. His subject matter typically focused on isolated areas of nature juxtaposed to the harmony of human presence. His prints would often times be of the same location, represented in different times of day, season, and weather. 

The Shin-hanga movement was in large part a great success, gaining international renown led by the artists, Kawase Hasui,  Hashiguchi Goyo, Ohara Koson, & Hiroshi Yoshida, who all had their turn under the careful tutelage  of the master printer/publisher, Watanabe Shôzaburô.  Watanabe's prints, produced from 1915 to 1942, are among the most sought after editions published, this is especially true of prints produced prior to the "Great Tanto Earthquake" of 1932, known as pre-earthquake. Almost all of the original blocks and designs of the original Shin-hanga movements were all lost when Watanabe's studio burned during the fires that ravaged the capital, creating a situation where few prints from the time survived.

Full list of artists

A full list of Shin-hanga artists and links for additional information can be found at the bottom of the page courtesy of Wikipedia

List of Shin-hanga artists
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