During and after the Meiji era, many professional woodblock printers and carvers were forced to turn to other jobs to make a living. Only some craftsmen raised in the traditional art of woodblock printmaking were able to continue working, based on the well-established quartet always consisting of four people: the publisher, the designer, the carver, and the printer. After the Meiji era the traditional Japanese co-operation of four different professionals producing woodblock prints were called the Shin Hanga (literally meaning New Prints) movement.

In the 20th century publisher Watanabe Shōzaburō (who was responsible for publishing the prints designed by Kawase Hasui and Itō Shinsui for example) was instrumental in reviving this tradition of producing Japanese woodblock prints. The French artist Paul Jacoulet - living almost all his life (including the Second World War) in Japan - also hired professional Japanese carvers and printers for the production of his woodblock prints, and - acknowledging their stupendous skills - added their names to most of his prints.

One woodblock carver - not only responsible for the prints designed Paul Jacoulet, but also for those designed by Kawase Hasui and Torii Kotondo - particularly stands out for his enormous craftmanship during this most recent time of Japanese history. His name is Kentarō Maeda.

During this very same post-Meiji period the so-called Sosaku Hanga (literally meaning Creative Prints) movement was receiving much more attention from art reviewers (both abroad and in Japan) than the Shin Hanga movement. Artists of the Sosaku Hanga movement typically did all the work (the publishing, designing, carving, and printing of their designs) themselves, claiming that the technical skills required in the carving and printing of woodblock prints would only hinder their artistic expression in the woodblock printing medium. A typical example of the prints produced by the Sosaku Hanga movement is this one (click on the image to obtain a larger view of this print):

This original woodblock print is the fronti-piece of a book on woodblock printing techniques written by Umetaro Azechi, a book that can be viewed on my website here. Considering the different goals aspired to by members of the Shin Hanga and Sosaku Hanga movements, Tōshi Yoshida - first author of this classic book on Japanese woodblock techniques, and son of Hiroshi Yoshida - mentions that:

‘ ... it may be said that the modern (i.e. creative) print movement started as a drastic reaction to the decadence of the ukiyo-e, which had become overripe in technical skill but quite impoverished in artistic value.’

Later in his life, however, Tōshi Yoshida reverted to the Shin Hanga style of producing woodblock prints, as is witnessed by his print called ‘Monument Valley’ shown below.

The woodblock prints on this webpage clearly point out my preference for the prints produced by the Shin Hanga artists, disregarding - I am afraid - those produced by members of the Sosaku Hanga movement. I obviously take the view that art should - at the very least - be based on professional craftmanship of the medium at hand.

To find out more about the Shin Hanga prints shown on this page - their size, publication date, provenance, enlargements, the English translation of the Japanese texts on each print, et cetera - click on any of the images shown below.

Hashiguchi Goyō (1880-1921) - Woman combing her hair	Itō Shinsui (1898-1972) - Frosty morning	Kitano Tsunetomi (1880-1947) - The heroine Umekawa in ‘Meido no Hikyaku’
Kawase Hasui (1883-1957) - Tengu Rock at Shiobara	Kawase Hasui (1883-1957) - Full moon at Magome	Kawase Hasui (1883-1957) - Senju Waterfall, Akame
Kawase Hasui (1883-1957) - Evening shower at Imai Bridge	Kawase Hasui (1883-1957) - Autumn at Shiobara	Kawase Hasui (1883-1957) - Onshi Park, Shiba
Hiroshi Yoshida (1876-1950) - Sailing boats: Morning	Hiroshi Yoshida (1876-1950) - Rapids	Hiroshi Yoshida (1876-1950) - Calm wind
Hiroshi Yoshida (1876-1950) - A Junk at Day	Hiroshi Yoshida (1876-1950) - Cherry and Castle	Hiroshi Yoshida (1876-1950) - A Junk at Night
Torii Kotondo (1900-1976) - Morning hair	Toshi Yoshida (1911-1995) - Monument Valley	Takahashi Shōtei (1871-1945) - Thunderstorm at Tateishi
Paul Jacoulet (1896-1960) - La chenille verte. Corée.	Paul Jacoulet (1896-1960) - Retour d’un banquet. Corée Seoul.	Paul Jacoulet (1896-1960) - Le génie sans nom. Corée.
Paul Jacoulet (1896-1960) - Tempête du Coeur Séoul Corée	Paul Jacoulet (1896-1960) - Le Bol de Lait. Aino. Hokkaido, Japon.	Paul Jacoulet (1896-1960) - Fumées de Santal. Mandchoukuo.
Gary Luedtke (1947) - Kalalau, Kauai	Gary Luedtke (1947) - Morning Light at Hilo Bay	Hirano Hakuhō (1879-1957) - Before the mirror