Nakao Yoshitaka

Nakao Yoshitaka was a sosaku-hanga printmaker born in Ehime Prefecture who learned drawing from Fumihiko Watanabe before moving to Tokyo at age forty-four to devote himself to printmaking. He pioneered an innovative cement printing technique, engraving into damp cement as it dried to create prints with distinctive soft textures unlike traditional woodblock methods. In 1957 he sent print prototypes to the International Graphic Society (IGAS), and his prints are held by the National Gallery of Art in Washington and the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.

Nakao Yoshitaka was active from 1911 to 1994. They were associated with the Sōsaku-hanga movement.

Nakao Yoshitaka'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.

Nakao Yoshitaka's prints frequently feature figures, daily life, portraits, abstract, craftspeople, urban scenes.

Original prints by Nakao Yoshitaka can be found in collections including Minneapolis Institute of Art, Japanese Art Open Database, Art Institute of Chicago, Harvard Art Museums.