Biography
Kishio Koizumi (小泉癸巳男, 1893-1945) occupied a singular position between the shin-hanga and sosaku-hanga movements, combining the topographic subject matter of the former with the self-reliance of the latter. He designed, carved, and printed every block himself -- fulfilling the sosaku-hanga ideal of the artist as sole creator -- yet his subjects were the temples, bridges, rivers, and modern landmarks of Tokyo that defined the shin-hanga landscape tradition. That synthesis culminated in his masterwork, the series One Hundred Views of Great Tokyo (Dai Tokyo Hyakkei), published between 1928 and 1940.
Born in Shizuoka Prefecture, Koizumi trained in Western-style painting and developed skills in oil and watercolor before gravitating toward printmaking. He moved to Tokyo and immersed himself in the city's rapid modernization, watching steel-frame office buildings and concrete bridges replace the wooden structures depicted by Meiji-era artists. The One Hundred Views series captured that transformation in real time: early prints in the series depict canal-side warehouses and wooden torii gates, while later entries show the streamlined ferro-concrete of the Nihonbashi district and the modern profile of the Diet Building.
Koizumi's technique balanced precision with atmospheric mood. He carved with fine lines that defined architectural edges cleanly, then layered translucent color washes to evoke weather and time of day -- fog over the Sumida River, twilight behind the silhouette of Sensoji pagoda, rain slanting across the iron girders of a railway bridge. His palette leaned toward cool blues, muted greens, and warm grays, with occasional punches of vermillion on shrine gates and autumn maple leaves.
The series was self-published in batches over twelve years, with Koizumi handling every aspect of production and distribution. He sold prints directly and through a small network of dealers sympathetic to the sosaku-hanga cause. The outbreak of war slowed production, and Koizumi died in 1945 before completing the full sequence -- the surviving prints number in the high eighties rather than the intended hundred.
His work attracted renewed scholarly attention in the late twentieth century as historians recognized that the One Hundred Views series constituted an irreplaceable visual document of interwar Tokyo, much of which was obliterated by firebombing in 1945. Prints from the series are held by the Art Institute of Chicago, the British Museum, and the Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts.
Key Facts
- Active Period
- 1893–1945
- Nationality
- 🇯🇵Japan
- Movements
- Shin-hangaSōsaku-hanga
- Subjects
- Temples & ShrinesRivers & Lakes
Frequently Asked Questions
Kishio Koizumi (小泉癸巳男, 1893-1945) occupied a singular position between the shin-hanga and sosaku-hanga movements, combining the topographic subject matter of the former with the self-reliance of the latter. He designed, carved, and printed every block himself -- fulfilling the sosaku-hanga ideal of the artist as sole creator -- yet his subjects were the temples, bridges, rivers, and modern landmarks of Tokyo that defined the shin-hanga landscape tradition. That synthesis culminated in his masterwork, the series One Hundred Views of Great Tokyo (Dai Tokyo Hyakkei), published between 1928 and 1940.
Kishio Koizumi was active from 1893 to 1945. They were associated with the Shin-hanga and Sōsaku-hanga movements.
Kishio Koizumi's work was shaped by the Shin-hanga and Sōsaku-hanga traditions in Japanese woodblock printmaking. Shin-hanga: ## What is Shin-hanga? Shin-hanga (新版画), literally "new prints," is the early twentieth-century revival of the collaborative Japanese woodblock workshop, organized between roughly 1915 and 1960 by the Tokyo publisher Watanabe Shōzaburō (1885–1962) and a handful of competing houses. 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.
Kishio Koizumi's prints frequently feature temples & shrines, rivers & lakes, landscapes, gardens, snow scenes, winter.
Original prints by Kishio Koizumi can be found in collections including Art of Japan, Art Institute of Chicago, Minneapolis Institute of Art, Japanese Art Open Database.
Kishio Koizumi is increasingly recognized as one of the most distinctive Japanese printmakers of the interwar period, best known for his monumental 'One Hundred Views of Great Tokyo' series. His unique position bridging shin-hanga subject matter with sosaku-hanga methodology makes his prints particularly interesting to collectors. Most prints sell in the $1,000-$4,000 range, though rare views command more. Koizumi designed, carved, and printed all his own works in very small editions, making his prints scarcer than commercially published shin-hanga. The 'One Hundred Views of Great Tokyo' series, his masterwork, comprises views of temples, bridges, gardens, and urban landmarks rendered with atmospheric sensitivity. Because he worked outside the commercial publishing system, his prints are less frequently encountered than those of shin-hanga contemporaries like Kawase Hasui. Minor views or average condition: $500-$1,000. Popular landmark subjects in good condition: $1,500-$4,000. Rare atmospheric views of famous Tokyo sites: $5,000-$15,000. Koizumi's market has been growing as more collectors and scholars recognize his achievements. His prints appear most often at Japanese auction houses and specialized print dealers.