Biography
Doshun Mori (森道春, 1909–1985) was a sosaku-hanga printmaker who documented Japanese folk customs and regional festivals through woodblock prints during the mid-twentieth century. Born in 1909 in Takayama, Gifu Prefecture --- a mountainous city known for its preserved Edo-period streetscapes and elaborate festival traditions --- he apprenticed under Onchi Koshiro, the pioneering figure of the creative print movement.
Mori's prints predominantly depicted matsuri (festival) scenes and folk customs from across Japan's provinces. His most significant collaborative project was "Nihon Minzoku Zufu" (Pictures of Japanese Native Customs), a series of twelve woodblock prints created in 1946 with Kawanishi Hide that recorded traditional customs and rural life practices in the immediate postwar period. The series captured scenes of regional festivals, agricultural rituals, and communal celebrations that were already beginning to fade from daily practice, giving the prints a documentary significance beyond their artistic merit. Other prints attributed to Mori depict scenes of the Kyoto Port Festival and bull fighting in Iyo Province, subjects that reflect the sosaku-hanga movement's interest in vernacular culture and provincial traditions outside the cosmopolitan centers of Tokyo and Kyoto.
Mori worked within the sosaku-hanga principle of designing, carving, and printing his own blocks, giving his festival scenes a directness and graphic energy that suited their lively subject matter. He died in 1985 at the age of seventy-six, leaving behind prints that serve as a visual record of Japanese folk practices during a period of rapid social change.
Key Facts
- Nationality
- 🇯🇵Japan
- Movement
- Sōsaku-hanga
- Works Indexed
- 8
Frequently Asked Questions
Doshun Mori (森道春, 1909–1985) was a sosaku-hanga printmaker who documented Japanese folk customs and regional festivals through woodblock prints during the mid-twentieth century. Born in 1909 in Takayama, Gifu Prefecture --- a mountainous city known for its preserved Edo-period streetscapes and elaborate festival traditions --- he apprenticed under Onchi Koshiro, the pioneering figure of the creative print movement.
Doshun Mori's work was shaped by the Sōsaku-hanga tradition in Japanese woodblock printmaking. Sōsaku-hanga: ## What is sōsaku-hanga? Sōsaku-hanga (創作版画, "creative prints") was a twentieth-century Japanese print movement defined by a single commitment: the artist must design, carve, and print every work alone.
Original prints by Doshun Mori can be found in collections including Art of Japan, The Art of Japan, ukiyo-e.org.
Doshun Mori is an established printmaker with a significant body of work. A substantial catalogue of prints exists from a long career. Prices range from $200 for smaller works to $6,000 for major compositions. Most prints sell in the $600–$2500 range. Current prices represent good value for works by an established artist. Condition and impression quality are important factors.
