1950s Japanese Woodblock Prints
595 prints from the 1950s 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 1950s
Prints (595)

breakfast
1957
Mezzotint on paper

'Night Falls, a Dog Howls Deep in the Mountains, the God of the Hunt Appears', from Ryuri Hanga Saku
1959
Woodblock print

"Earthenware And Haniwa" Japanese Woodblock Print
1959
Woodcut

(Kannon Goddess)
1950s
Woodblock print, hand colored
![[abstracted block tower] by Nakao Yoshitaka](https://1.api.artsmia.org/800/136050.jpg)
[abstracted block tower]
1956
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
![[abstracted man holding object] by Nakao Yoshitaka](https://1.api.artsmia.org/800/135965.jpg)
[abstracted man holding object]
1957
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
![[Grey Figure Posing] by Nakao Yoshitaka](https://1.api.artsmia.org/800/135848.jpg)
[Grey Figure Posing]
1959
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
![[Path through woods] by Kihei Sasajima](https://1.api.artsmia.org/800/135644.jpg)
[Path through woods]
1950
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper

13
1959
Aquatint and etching on paper

A Flower Seller
1951
Color woodblock print

A Horse
1959
Color woodblock print with metal leaf; edition 45/50

A Man Skiing (Sukii no otoko)
1955
Color woodblock print; edition 10/50

A Stream
1954
Woodblock print
![A Study (No. 1) [Shusaku (sono ichi)] by Kinoshita Tomio](https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/30197738-b89a-091b-1495-d5d35ba94a97/full/843,/0/default.jpg)
A Study (No. 1) [Shusaku (sono ichi)]
1959
Color woodblock print; edition 1/50

A Tacit Agreement
1958
Color woodblock print

A Temple Gate
1958
Color woodblock print

A Whisper
1954
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper with mica

Abstract cityscape
1955
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper

Abumi Promontory (Abumisaki)
Abumisaki
1950
Color woodblock print

Actor
1953
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper

Actor performs the Sambasō Dance
1951–1953
Color woodblock print (ōban)

AKA
1958
Lithograph in colors

Alone
1958
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper

Altar
1956
Woodblock print

An Oharame Girl Carrying Firewood on Her Head
20th century
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper

Ananda (Ananda), from the series "Two Bodhisattva and Ten Great Disciples of Buddha Sakyamuni (Nibosatsu Shaka judai deshi)"
1939 (printed 1959)
Woodblock print

Ancester
1958
Woodblock print

Ancient City, Nara
1954
Color woodblock print; edition 18/100

April- Shade of Cherry Blossoms
1958
Woodblock print

Arashiyama, Kyoto
n.d. [1952]
Color woodblock print

Ashura
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper

At a Hot Springs Inn
1952
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper with mica and embossing

Atsumori, from Bunraku Doll Print Collection
敦盛 — 文楽人形版画集
c. 1950s
Color woodblock print, oban format

Autumn
秋
1950
Color woodblock print

Autumn
October 1954
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper

Autumn at Fukuroda Falls, Ibaraki Prefecture (Fukuroda-no-taki no aki (Ibaraki ken)
Fukuroda-no-taki no aki (Ibaraki ken
1954
Color woodblock print

Autumn in Funatsu (Funatsu no aki)
Funatsu no aki
1953
Color woodblock print

Back cover (part 10)
July 1957
Woodblock print, ink on paper

Baishinji Beach, Iyo (Iyo Baishinji no hama)
1950
Color woodblock print

Bamboo Grove of Saga
嵯峨竹林
1952
Woodblock print

Bamboo Grove Under a Crescent Moon - 月下竹林
1950
Watercolor

Beauty
1958
Ink on paper

Before Mountaineering
1954
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper

Before Moutaineering (B)
1954
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper

Benten Shrine at Inokashira Pond
井之頭弁天
1953
Woodblock print

Bird (Tori)

Bird (Tori)
1958
Color woodblock print; edition 18/30

Bird and Eye (Tori to gankyutai)
1959
Color woodblock print; edition 4/50

Bird and Eyeballs
1958
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper

Bird and Fox
1958
Woodblock print

Bird Beginning Flight (Tobitatsu tori)
飛び立つ鳥
1959
Color woodblock print
Birds
1959
Color woodblock print

Black Cat
c. 1960
Color woodblock print

Black Vessel (Kuroi utsuwa)
1959
Color woodblock print; edition 20/20

Bookplate (Art Deco)
mid–20th century
Etching

Boy and Rooster
1957
Woodblock print

Boy and Rooster in Moonlight
1959
Woodblock print

Boy Holding a Cat
1957
Woodblock print

Bridge
1959

Buddha Asyura (D)
1959
Color woodcut
Nearby Decades
Frequently Asked Questions
Hanga catalogues 595 Japanese woodblock prints created during the 1950s (Shōwa Era, 1926–1989).
The 1950s fall within the Shōwa Era (昭和時代), which ran from 1926 to 1989.
Kawase Hasui, Umetaro Azechi, and Shiko Munakata are among the artists with the most 1950s prints in our collection.
Explore all Japanese printmaking eras
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