1940s Japanese Woodblock Prints
322 prints from the 1940s in our collection, created during the Shōwa Era (1926–1989). The Shōwa era encompassed Japanese printmaking's greatest upheavals and triumphs. Pre-war, shin-hanga flourished with Hasui, Yoshida, and Koitsu producing iconic landscapes.
Top Artists of the 1940s
Prints (322)
A Corridor at Miyajima (Miyajima no kairo)
Miyajima no kairo
1949
Color woodblock print
A Farmhouse in Autumn, Ayashi, Miyagi Prefecture (Noka no aki (Miyagi ken Ayashi)
Noka no aki (Miyagi ken Ayashi
1946
Color woodblock print
A Girl
少女
1941
Pencil, Japanese ink, charcoal and conté on paper
A House in the City (Machi no ie), from the series "Manchuria (Manshu)"
1944 (printed c. 1950 from recut block?)
Color woodblock print; oban
A Park in Guangzhou
1941
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
A parody of Hanshin and Shide, two chinese monks
1941
Woodblock print
A Spa in Spring
1940
Color woodblock print
A Spa in Spring (Later printing by Toshi Yoshida)
1940
Woodblock print
Album of New Year cards 1941
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Album of New Year cards 1942
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
An Osaka Canal
1941
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Anémonés et fleurs de champs dans un verre a facettes / Bouquet sur fond de dentelle
1945
Etching and aquatint
Aoyagi
1942
Woodblock print
Asakusa Kannon Hall, from the series Recollections of Tokyo
1945
Color woodblock print
Atomic Bomb Ruins (Hiroshima)
原爆の跡(廣島)
1945 (composed after August 6, 1945)
Woodblock print on paper
Atomic Bomb Ruins (Hiroshima), second impression
原爆の跡(廣島)
1945 (composed after August 6, 1945)
Woodblock print on paper
Awaiting Manila
マニラを望む
January 1943
Oil on canvas
Azekura (Log Storehouse)
校倉
1943
Oil on canvas
Azekura B (Log Storehouse B)
校倉(乙)
1943
Oil on canvas
Azuma Gorge (Azuma kyo)
1943
Color woodblock print
Backside of Tokyo Station
駅の裏
January 1942
Oil on canvas
Bakudan Sange (Sacrifice in the Bomb Blast)
爆弾散華
1945
Painting; mineral pigments
Benkeibashi Bridge, from the series Recollections of Tokyo
1945
Color woodblock print
Bergers des Hautes Montagnes
April 20, 1941 (Showa)
Woodblock print
Bergers des Hautes Montagnes - Coree...
April 20, 1941
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Black Cat in Tree
1940
Color woodblock print
Blacksmith
鍛冶屋
c. 1940
Color woodblock print
Blue and White Vase
染付花入
1945
Stoneware with cobalt blue underglaze (sometsuke)
Books
1949
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Bridge in Y-City
Y市の橋
1943
Oil on canvas
Cactus. Mers du Sud
1941
Woodblock print
Calendar of April 1942 (Showa 17)
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Calendar Sheet August 1940
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Calendar Sheet December 1941
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Calendar sheet for April 1942 (Showa 17)
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Calendar sheet for November 1942 (Showa 17)
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Calendar Sheet May 1943
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Camelias
1941
Woodblock print
Camellia
1950
Color woodblock print
Canal in Osaka
1941
Woodblock print
Carnival
1949
Lithograph in black on cream wove paper
Carp
1952
Woodcut print
Carp and Cherry
c. 1949
Color woodblock print
Carp and Tortoises
after 1940
Color woodblock print
Cat, from the series "Steady Gaze" ("Gyoshi")
1943
Color woodblock print
Cemetery at Sengakuji, from the series Recollections of Tokyo
1945
Color woodblock print
Cherry Blossoms at the Shirakawa Castle Ruins (Shirakawajoshi no sakura)
Shirakawajoshi no sakura
1946
Color woodblock print
Child of the Sea
1940
Woodblock print
Chiyoda Castle
1942
Color woodblock print
Chuzenji-ko (Lake Chuzenji), from Ichimoku-shu (First Thursday Collection), Vol. 2
中禅寺湖
1946
Color woodblock print
Cityscape
街
September 1940
Oil on board
Clearing after a Snowfall at the Sekiyado (Sekiyado no yukibare)
1946
Color woodblock print
Clearing after a Snowfall, Yoshida (Yoshida no yukibare)
1944
Color woodblock print
Cloudy Day in Mizuki, Ibaraki Prefecture (Mizuki no komoribi)
1946
Color woodblock print
Colts
1948
Color woodblock print
Cooper
桶屋
c. 1940
Color woodblock print
Cover page of portfolio "Journey to the Homeland (Sokoku he no tabi)"
1947
Woodblock print (Individual prints in portfolio: 1962.237.1-17)
Deity in Chinese Dress
1945 L
Woodblock print
Diabutsu Temple Gate
1940
Color woodblock print
Dogs from Europe
欧州の犬
1941
Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk
Nearby Decades
Frequently Asked Questions
Hanga catalogues 322 Japanese woodblock prints created during the 1940s (Shōwa Era, 1926–1989).
The 1940s fall within the Shōwa Era (昭和時代), which ran from 1926 to 1989.
Kawase Hasui, Paul Jacoulet, and Onchi Koshiro are among the artists with the most 1940s prints in our collection.
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