Shōwa Era
昭和時代
1926–1989
About the Shōwa Era
The Shōwa era encompassed Japanese printmaking's greatest upheavals and triumphs. Pre-war, shin-hanga flourished with Hasui, Yoshida, and Koitsu producing iconic landscapes. World War II devastated the art world, but post-war reconstruction brought international recognition—sosaku-hanga artists won major prizes at the São Paulo and Venice Biennales. Artists like Shiro Kasamatsu and Toshi Yoshida bridged traditional and modern sensibilities, while Jun'ichiro Sekino and others pushed printmaking into abstract and conceptual territory.
Movements (4)
Artistic movements active during the Shōwa Era
Artists (200)
Artists active during the Shōwa Era

Charles W. Bartlett
1860–1940

Ogawa Usen
小川芋銭
1868–1938

Bertha Lum
1869–1954

Yamamoto Shoun
山本昇雲
1870–1965

Tsuchiya Koitsu
土屋光逸
1870–1949

Koho Shoda
庄田耕峰
1871–1946
Takahashi Shotei
高橋松亭
1871–1945

Yoshimune Arai
荒井芳宗
1873–1945

Kamoshita Chōko
鴨下晁湖
1874–1950

Hiromitsu Nakazawa
中沢弘光
1874–1964

Ishikawa Toraji
石川寅治
1875–1964

Uemura Shoen
上村松園
1875–1949

Hiroshi Yoshida
吉田博
1876–1950

Hisui Sugiura
杉浦非水
1876–1965

Igawa Sengai
井川洗崖
1876–1961

Kosaka Gajin
上坂雅人
1877–1953

Ohara Koson
小原古邨
1877–1945

Kaburaki Kiyokata
鏑木清方
1878–1972

Akamatsu Rinsaku
赤松麟作
1878–1953

Hirano Hakuhō
平野白峰
1879–1957

Kitano Tsunetomi
北野恒富
1880–1947

Hasegawa Sadanobu III
長谷川貞信三世
1881–1963

Gesso Yoshimoto
吉本月荘
1881–1936

Hirezaki Eiho
鰭崎英朋
1881–1968

Kanae Yamamoto
山本鼎
1882–1946

Oda Kazuma
織田一磨
1882–1956

Ishii Hakutei
石井柏亭
1882–1958

Kogan Tobari
戸張孤雁
1882–1927

Oda Kazuma
織田一磨
1882–1956

Kawase Hasui
川瀬巴水
1883–1957

Wada Sanzo
和田三造
1883–1967
Takeo Terasaki
寺崎武男
1883–1967

Miki Suizan
三木翠山
1883–1957

Ito Sozan
伊藤宗山
1884

Walter J. Phillips
1884–1963

Fritz Capelari
フリッツ・カペラリ
1884–1950

Takehisa Yumeji
竹久夢二
1884–1934

Noël Nouët
1885–1969

Yamamura Toyonari
山村豊成
1885–1942

Natori Shunsen
名取春仙
1886–1960

Kato Shinmei
加藤晋明
1887
Elizabeth Keith
エリザベス・キース
1887–1956

Fujio Yoshida
吉田ふじを
1887–1987

Komura Settai
小村雪岱
1887–1940

Ohno Bakufu
大野麦風
1888–1976

Maekawa Senpan
前川千帆
1888–1960

Yoshijiro Urushibara
漆原木虫
1888–1953

Shodo Kawarazaki
河原崎奨堂
1889–1973
Cyrus Leroy Baldridge
1889–1977

Onchi Koshiro
恩地孝四郎
1891–1955

Kiyoshi Hasegawa
長谷川潔
1891–1980

Insho Domoto
堂本印象
1891–1975

Nagase Yoshio
永瀬義郎
1891–1978

Fujimori Shizuo
藤森静雄
1891–1943

Shima Seien
島成園
1892–1970

Ota Masamitsu
太田雅光
1892–1975

Kishio Koizumi
小泉癸巳男
1893–1945

Aoyama Masaharu
青山正治
1893–1969

Kanpo Yoshikawa
吉川観方
1894–1979

Hide Kawanishi
川西英
1894–1965

Gyoshu Hayami
速水御舟
1894–1935

Ito Takashi
伊東孝
1894–1982

Henmi Takashi
逸見享
1895–1944

Sumio Kawakami
川上澄生
1895–1972

Lilian May Miller
1895–1943

Hiratsuka Un'ichi
平塚運一
1895–1997

Tsuchiya Rakuzan
土屋楽山
1896–1976

Paul Jacoulet
ポール・ジャクレー
1896–1960

Gen Yamaguchi
山口源
1896–1976

Sakuichi Fukazawa
深沢索一
1896–1947

Kanenori Suwa
諏訪兼紀
1897–1932

Ito Shinsui
伊東深水
1898–1972

Koji Fukiya
蕗谷虹児
1898–1979

Yamakawa Shuho
山川秀峰
1898–1944

Yoshitoshi Mori
森義利
1898–1992

Shiro Kasamatsu
笠松紫浪
1898–1991

Okiie Hashimoto
橋本興家
1899–1993

Asada Benji
浅田弁治
1899–1984

Kobayakawa Kiyoshi
小早川清
1899–1948

Torii Kotondo
鳥居言人
1900–1976

Takeji Asano
浅野竹二
1900–1999

Sentaro Iwata
岩田専太郎
1901–1974

Kamei Tobei
亀井東平
1901–1977

Umetaro Azechi
畦地梅太郎
1902–1999

Tomoo Inagaki
稲垣知雄
1902–1980

Inagaki Toshijiro
稲垣稔次郎
1902–1963

Tomikichiro Tokuriki
徳力富吉郎
1902–1999
Shiko Munakata
棟方志功
1903–1975

Pieter Irwin Brown
1903–1988

Maeda Masao
前田政雄
1904–1974
Maeda Masao
前田政雄
1904–1974

Okumura Koichi
奥村厚一
1904–1974

Waichi Hayashi
林和一
1905–1975

Kihei Sasajima
笹島喜平
1906–1993

Kotozuka Eiichi
琴塚英一
1906–1979

Saito Kiyoshi
斎藤清
1907–1997

Shimura Tatsumi
志村立美
1907–1980

Gihachiro Okuyama
奥山儀八郎
1907–1981

Tsukioka Gyokusei
月岡玉成
1908–1994

Takumi Shinagawa
品川工
1908–2009

Tadashige Ono
小野忠重
1909–1990

Yozo Hamaguchi
浜口陽三
1909–2000

Ito Nisaburo
伊藤仁三郎
1910–1988

Nishiyama Hideo
西山英雄
1911–1989

Fujimaki Yoshio
藤牧義夫
1911–1935

Keiko Minami
南桂子
1911–2004

Toshi Yoshida
吉田遠志
1911–1995

Nakao Yoshitaka
中尾義隆
1911–1994

Hiroyuki Tajima
田島博之
1911–1984

Mizufune Rokushu
水船六洲
1912–1980

Sadao Watanabe
渡辺禎雄
1913–1996

Joichi Hoshi
星襄一
1913–1979

Toko Shinoda
篠田桃紅
1913–2021

Hideo Hagiwara
萩原英雄
1913–2007

Jun'ichiro Sekino
関野準一郎
1914–1988

Kaoru Kawano
川野薫
1916–1965

Yoshida Masaji
吉田政次
1917–1971

Takahashi Rikio
高橋力雄
1917–1998

Fumio Kitaoka
北岡文雄
1918–2007

Kumi Sugai
菅井汲
1919–1996

Tetsuro Komai
駒井哲郎
1920–1976

Toru Mabuchi
馬渕徹
1920–1994

Ansei Uchima
内間安瑆
1921–2000

Kinoshita Tomio
木下富雄
1923–2014

Maki Haku
巻白
1924–2000

Chizuko Yoshida
吉田千鶴子
1924–2017

Fukita Fumiaki
吹田文明
1926
Hodaka Yoshida
吉田穂高
1926–1995

Ouchi Makoto
大内マコト
1926–1989

Kawada Kan
川田幹
1927–1999

Amano Kazumi
天野和美
1927–2001

Reika Iwami
岩見禮花
1927–2020

Clifton Karhu
1927–2007

Tadashi Nakayama
中山正
1927–2014

Amano Kunihiro
天野邦弘
1929–2020

Ay-O
靉嘔
1931

Saito Kaoru
斎藤薫
1931–2021

Kobashi Yasuhide
小橋泰秀
1931–2003

Fumio Fujita
藤田不美夫
1933–2020

Tanaka Ryohei
田中良平
1933–2019

Mitsuaki Sora
空充秋
1934

Kazuyuki Ohtsu
大津一幸
1935

Kusaka Kenji
日下健二
1936

Kato Teruhide
加藤晃秀
1936

Koichi Maeda
前田光一
1936

Naoko Matsubara
松原直子
1937

Akira Kurosaki
黒崎彰
1937–2019
Nakabayashi Tadayoshi
中林忠良
1937

Sugiura Kazutoshi
杉浦和俊
1938

Yoshisuke Funasaka
舩坂芳助
1939

Tatsuo Kawashima
川島達雄
1940

Tetsuya Noda
野田哲也
1940

Mayumi Oda
小田真由美
1941

Tadashige Nishida
西田忠重
1942
Yasu Shibata
柴田泰
1943
David Stones
1945

Katsuyuki Nishijima
西島勝之
1945
Shigeru Takeda
武田茂
1945

Ido Masao
井堂雅夫
1945–2016

Osamu Sugiyama
杉山修
1946

Tsuruya Kokei
弦屋光溪
1946
Akira Akiyama
秋山明
1947

Hajime Namiki
並木一
1947

Hiroki Morinoue
森之上博紀
1947
Shoichi Kitamura
北村昭一
1947

Daniel Kelly
1947–2024

Taniguchi Shigeru
谷口茂
1948

Micah Schwaberow
1948
Ray Morimura
森村玲
1948

Kawachi Seiko
河内清光
1948

Katsunori Hamanishi
浜西勝則
1949

Shibata Toshio
柴田敏夫
1949

Ryusei Okamoto
岡本隆生
1949

Kunio Kaneko
金子國義
1949
Noriko Saito
斉藤典子
1950
Motoi Oi
大井基
1950
David Bull
1951
Annamarie Skibsted
1952

Karen Kunc
1952

Richard Steiner
1952

April Vollmer
1953
Tuula Moilanen
1953

Hidehiko Goto
後藤秀彦
1953

Maruyama Hiroshi
1953

Joshua Rome
1953

Yuji Hiratsuka
平塚雄二
1954
Takuji Hamanaka
浜中拓司
1954

Nana Shiomi
塩見奈々
1956

Kenji Takenaka
竹中健司
1957

Sarah Brayer
1957

Ayomi Yoshida
吉田亜世美
1958
Ralph Kiggell
1960
Matt Brown
1960
Tom Kristensen
1962

An Bin
安斌
1962

Paul Binnie
1967
Natalia Moroz
1970
Katie Baldwin
1972

Yuasa Katsutoshi
湯浅克俊
1978
Lucy May Schofield
1982
Notable Works
Works created during the Shōwa Era

Kojaku Cavern, Oga Peninsula (Oga hanto Kojaku no iwaya), from the series "Souvenirs of Travel, Third Series (Tabi miyage dai sanshu)"
1926
Color woodblock print; oban

Yasugi Kiyomizu Temple, Izumo Province (Izumo, Yasugi Kiyomizu), from the series "Selection of Views of Japan (Nihon fukei senshu)"
1926
Color woodblock print; oban

Camping at Washibadake
1926
Color woodblock print

Nigatsudo Temple
1926
Color woodblock print

The Kabuki Theater (Kabukiza)
Kabukiza
May 1926
Color woodblock print

Yasugi Kiyomizu Temple, Izumo Province (Izumo, Yasugi Kiyomizu), from the series "Selection of Views of Japan (Nihon fukei senshu)"
Izumo, Yasugi Kiyomizu
1926
Color woodblock print; oban

Afternoon, from the series "Sailboat Boats"
1926
Color woodblock print

Eboshidake
1926
Color woodblock print

Greengrocery at Nezu (Nezu shojiki yaoya)
Nezu shojiki yaoya
1926
Color woodblock print; oban

Carp
1926
Color woodblock print; oban

Kumoi Cherry Trees (Kumoi sakura)
Kumoi sakura
1926
Color woodblock print

Nakabusa River Rapids
1926
Color woodblock print
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