was an
art movement
An art movement is a tendency or style in art with a specific common philosophy or goal, followed by a group of artists during a specific period of time, (usually a few months, years or decades) or, at least, with the heyday of the movement defin ...
in early 20th-century Japan, during the
Taishō and
Shōwa period
Shōwa may refer to:
* Hirohito (1901–1989), the 124th Emperor of Japan, known posthumously as Emperor Shōwa
* Showa Corporation, a Japanese suspension and shock manufacturer, affiliated with the Honda keiretsu
Japanese eras
* Jōwa (Heian ...
s, that revitalized the traditional ''
ukiyo-e
Ukiyo-e is a genre of Japanese art which flourished from the 17th through 19th centuries. Its artists produced woodblock prints and paintings of such subjects as female beauties; kabuki actors and sumo wrestlers; scenes from history and folk ta ...
'' art rooted in the
Edo
Edo ( ja, , , "bay-entrance" or "estuary"), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo.
Edo, formerly a ''jōkamachi'' (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the ''de facto'' capital of ...
and
Meiji period
The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912.
The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...
s (17th–19th century). It maintained the traditional ''ukiyo-e'' collaborative system (''hanmoto'' system) where the artist, carver, printer, and publisher engaged in division of labor, as opposed to the parallel ''
sōsaku-hanga
was an art movement of woodblock printing which was conceived in early 20th-century Japan. It stressed the artist as the sole creator motivated by a desire for self-expression, and advocated principles of art that is "self-drawn" (自画 ''jiga' ...
'' (creative prints) movement which advocated the principles of "self-drawn" (''jiga''), "self-carved" (''jikoku'') and "self-printed" (''jizuri''), according to which the artist, with the desire of expressing the self, is the sole creator of art.
The movement was initiated and nurtured by publisher
Watanabe Shozaburo (1885–1962), and flourished from around 1915 to 1942, resuming on a smaller scale after the Second World War through the 1950s and 1960s. Inspired by European
Impressionism
Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passa ...
(which itself had drawn from ukiyo-e), the artists incorporated Western elements such as the effects of light and the expression of individual moods, but focused on strictly traditional themes of landscapes (''fukeiga''), famous places (''
meishō''), beautiful women (''
bijinga
is a generic term for pictures of beautiful women () in Japanese art, especially in woodblock printing of the ukiyo-e genre.
Definition
defines as a picture that simply "emphasizes the beauty of women", and the ''Shincho Encyclopedia of ...
''),
kabuki
is a classical form of Japanese dance- drama. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily-stylised performances, the often-glamorous costumes worn by performers, and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers.
Kabuki is thought ...
actors (''
yakusha-e
''Yakusha-e'' (役者絵), often referred to as "actor prints" in English, are Japanese woodblock prints or, rarely, paintings, of kabuki actors, particularly those done in the '' ukiyo-e'' style popular through the Edo period (1603–1867) and ...
''), and birds-and-flowers (''
kachō-e'').
History
''Shin-hanga'' prints were directed to a Western audience largely through Western patronage and art dealers such as Robert O. Muller (1911-2003). Primarily aimed at foreign markets, ''shin-hanga'' prints appealed to Western taste for nostalgic and romanticized views of Japan and as such, enjoyed immense popularity overseas. In the 1920s, there were articles on ''shin-hanga'' in the ''International Studio'', ''
The Studio'', ''
The Art News
''ARTnews'' is an American visual-arts magazine, based in New York City. It covers art from ancient to contemporary times. ARTnews is the oldest and most widely distributed art magazine in the world. It has a readership of 180,000 in 124 countri ...
'' and ''
The Art Digest'' magazines. In 1921, a ''Shinsaku-hanga Tenrankai'' ("New Creative Print Exhibition") was held in Tokyo. One hundred and fifty works by ten artists were exhibited. In 1930 and 1936, two major ''shin-hanga'' exhibitions were held at the
Toledo Museum of Art
The Toledo Museum of Art is an internationally known art museum located in the Old West End neighborhood of Toledo, Ohio. It houses a collection of more than 30,000 objects. With 45 galleries, it covers 280,000 square feet and is currently in th ...
in Ohio. They were the largest showcases of ''shin-hanga'' prints at the time.
There was not much domestic market for ''shin-hanga'' prints in Japan. ''Ukiyo-e'' prints were considered by the Japanese as mass commercial products, as opposed to the European view of ''ukiyo-e'' as
fine art
In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwor ...
during the climax of
Japonisme
''Japonisme'' is a French term that refers to the popularity and influence of Japanese art and design among a number of Western European artists in the nineteenth century following the forced reopening of foreign trade with Japan in 1858. Japon ...
. After decades of
modernization
Modernization theory is used to explain the process of modernization within societies. The "classical" theories of modernization of the 1950s and 1960s drew on sociological analyses of Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim and a partial reading of Max Weber, ...
and
Westernization during the
Meiji era, architecture, art and clothing in Japan came to follow Western modes. Japanese art students were trained in the Western tradition. Western
oil paintings
Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments with a medium of drying oil as the binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on wood panel or canvas for several centuries, spreading from Europe to the rest of ...
(''
yōga'') were considered high art and received official recognition from the
Bunten (The Ministry of Education Fine Arts Exhibition). ''Shin-hanga'' prints, on the other hand, were considered as a variation of the outdated ''ukiyo-e''. They were dismissed by the Bunten and were subordinated under oil paintings and
sculptures
Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...
.
''Shin-hanga'' declined as the military government tightened its control over the arts and culture during wartime. In 1939, the Army Art Association was established under the patronage of the Army Information Section to promote war art. By 1943, an official commission for war painting was set up and artists’ materials were rationed. Overseas market for Japanese prints declined drastically at the same time.
Demand for ''shin-hanga'' never regained its momentum postwar. Nevertheless a small number of artists continued in the tradition. Artists such as
Shinsui Itō
Shinsui Itō ( ja, 伊東 深水, Itō Shinsui; 4 February 1898 – 8 May 1972) was the pseudonym of a ''Nihonga'' painter and ''ukiyo-e'' woodblock printing, woodblock print artist in Taishō period, Taishō- and Shōwa period, Shōwa-perio ...
(1898–1972) and (1907–1980) continued to utilize the collaborative system during the 1960s and 1970s. In the last decades of the 20th century publishers instead concentrated on making reproductions of early 20th century ''shin-hanga;'' meanwhile ''
sōsaku-hanga
was an art movement of woodblock printing which was conceived in early 20th-century Japan. It stressed the artist as the sole creator motivated by a desire for self-expression, and advocated principles of art that is "self-drawn" (自画 ''jiga' ...
'' enjoyed immense popularity and prestige in the international art scene. The early 21st century has seen somewhat of a resurgence in ''shin-hanga'' popularity notably in market demand for earlier masters such as
Kawase Hasui
was an artist, one of modern Japan's most important and prolific printmakers. He was a prominent designer of the '' shin-hanga'' ("new prints") movement, whose artists depicted traditional subjects with a style influenced by Western art. Like ma ...
(1883–1957) and
Hiroshi Yoshida
was a 20th-century Japanese painter and woodblock printmaker. He is regarded as one of the greatest artists of the shin-hanga style, and is noted especially for his excellent landscape prints. Yoshida travelled widely, and was particularly known ...
(1876–1950), and for new artists continuing the ''shin-hanga'' aesthetic such as
Paul Binnie (1967–).
Steve Jobs
Steven Paul Jobs (February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011) was an American entrepreneur, industrial designer, media proprietor, and investor. He was the co-founder, chairman, and CEO of Apple; the chairman and majority shareholder of Pixar; a ...
, the head of Apple, was among the prominent collectors of ''shin-hanga''.
Notable artists
*
Hashiguchi Goyō
*
*
Itō Shinsui
*
Kaburagi Kiyokata
*
Kawase Hasui
was an artist, one of modern Japan's most important and prolific printmakers. He was a prominent designer of the '' shin-hanga'' ("new prints") movement, whose artists depicted traditional subjects with a style influenced by Western art. Like ma ...
*
Elizabeth Keith
*
Kitano Tsunetomi
*
Kobayakawa Kiyoshi
*
Kojima Gyokuhō
*
Natori Shunsen
*
Ohara Koson
was a Japanese painter and woodblock print designer of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, part of the ''shin-hanga'' ("new prints") movement.
Ohara Koson was famous as a master of kachō-e (bird-and-flower) designs. Throughout a prolific ...
*
Koichi Okada
*
Ota Masamitsu (also known as Ota Gako)
*
Settai Komura
*
*
Shiro Kasamatsu
*
Takahashi Shōtei (also known as Hiroaki)
*
Takeji Asano
*
Torii Kotondo
*
Tsuchiya Koitsu
*
Tsuchiya Rakusan
*
Yamakawa Shūhō
*
Yamamura Toyonari
*
Yoshida Hiroshi
was a 20th-century Japanese painter and woodblock printmaker. He is regarded as one of the greatest artists of the shin-hanga style, and is noted especially for his excellent landscape prints. Yoshida travelled widely, and was particularly known ...
References
Further reading
*Blair, Dorothy. ''Modern Japanese prints: printed from a photographic reproduction of two exhibition catalogues of modern Japanese prints published by the Toledo Museum of Art in 1930-1936''. Ohio: Toledo Museum of Art, 1997.
*Brown, K. and Goodall-Cristante, H. ''Shin-Hanga: New Prints in Modern Japan''. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1996.
*Hamanoka, Shinji. ''Female Image: 20th Century Prints of Japanese Beauties''. Hotei Publishing 2000.
*Jenkins, D. ''Images of a Changing World: Japanese Prints of the Twentieth Century''. Portland: Portland Art Museum, 1983.
*Menzies, Jackie. ''Modern boy, Modern Girl: Modernity in Japanese Art 1910-1935''. Sydney, Australia: Art Gallery NSW, c1998.
* Merritt, Helen and Nanako Yamada. (1995). ''Guide to Modern Japanese Woodblock Prints, 1900-1975.'' Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. ;
OCLC 247995392*Merritt, Helen. ''Modern Japanese Woodblock Prints: The Early Years''. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press 1990.
*Mirviss, Joan B. ''Printed to Perfection: Twentieth-century Japanese Prints from the Robert O. Muller Collection''. Washington D.C.: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution and Hotei Publishing 2004.
* Newland, Amy Reigle. (2005). ''Hotei Encyclopedia of Japanese Woodblock Prints.'' Amsterdam: Hotei.
OCLC 61666175
*Smith, Lawrence. ''Modern Japanese Prints 1912-1989''. New York, London, Paris: Cross River Press, 1994.
*Swinton, Elizabeth de Sabato. ''Terrific Tokyo: A panorama in Prints from the 1860s to the 1930s''. Worcester: Worcester Art Museum, 1998.
*Masuda, Koh. ''Kenkyusha's New Japanese-English Dictionary'', Kenkyusha Limited, Tokyo 1991,
External links
Video showing the printing of a shin-hanga workby craftsman
David Bull (16 mins)
"The Shin Hanga Movement in America"Video lecture by Dr. Kendall Brown on roles played by artist
Hiroshi Yoshida
was a 20th-century Japanese painter and woodblock printmaker. He is regarded as one of the greatest artists of the shin-hanga style, and is noted especially for his excellent landscape prints. Yoshida travelled widely, and was particularly known ...
and museum professional J. Arthur MacLean in disseminating the art (50 mins)
Shin hanga — ''Viewing Japanese Prints''website by John Fiorillo
''Dream Worlds: Modern Japanese Prints and Paintings from the Robert O. Muller Collection''Online Exhibition
Information about the man behind one of the most well known collections of Shin Hanga.
{{authority control
20th century in art
20th century in Japan
Ukiyo-e genres
Schools of Japanese art
Impressionism