Hanga
Shōwa Era

1950s Japanese Woodblock Prints

595 prints from the 1950s in our collection, created during the Shōwa Era (19261989). 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 by Yozo Hamaguchi

breakfast

1957

Mezzotint on paper

'Night Falls, a Dog Howls Deep in the Mountains, the God of the Hunt Appears', from Ryuri Hanga Saku by Shiko Munakata

'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 by Toru Mabuchi

"Earthenware And Haniwa" Japanese Woodblock Print

1959

Woodcut

(Kannon Goddess) by Shiko Munakata

(Kannon Goddess)

1950s

Woodblock print, hand colored

[abstracted block tower] by Nakao Yoshitaka

[abstracted block tower]

1956

Woodblock print, ink and color on paper

[abstracted man holding object] by Nakao Yoshitaka

[abstracted man holding object]

1957

Woodblock print, ink and color on paper

[Grey Figure Posing] by Nakao Yoshitaka

[Grey Figure Posing]

1959

Woodblock print, ink and color on paper

[Path through woods] by Kihei Sasajima

[Path through woods]

1950

Woodblock print, ink and color on paper

13 by Tetsuro Komai

13

1959

Aquatint and etching on paper

A Flower Seller by Maekawa Senpan

A Flower Seller

1951

Color woodblock print

A Horse by Tadashi Nakayama

A Horse

1959

Color woodblock print with metal leaf; edition 45/50

A Man Skiing (Sukii no otoko) by Umetaro Azechi

A Man Skiing (Sukii no otoko)

1955

Color woodblock print; edition 10/50

A Stream by Kihei Sasajima

A Stream

1954

Woodblock print

A Study (No. 1) [Shusaku (sono ichi)] by Kinoshita Tomio

A Study (No. 1) [Shusaku (sono ichi)]

1959

Color woodblock print; edition 1/50

A Tacit Agreement by Gen Yamaguchi

A Tacit Agreement

1958

Color woodblock print

A Temple Gate by Takahashi Rikio

A Temple Gate

1958

Color woodblock print

A Whisper by Ito Shinsui

A Whisper

1954

Woodblock print, ink and color on paper with mica

Abstract cityscape by Fumio Kitaoka

Abstract cityscape

1955

Woodblock print, ink and color on paper

Abumi Promontory (Abumisaki) by Kawase Hasui

Abumi Promontory (Abumisaki)

Abumisaki

1950

Color woodblock print

Actor by Takumi Shinagawa

Actor

1953

Woodblock print, ink and color on paper

Actor performs the Sambasō Dance by Ueno Tadamasa

Actor performs the Sambasō Dance

1951–1953

Color woodblock print (ōban)

AKA by Kumi Sugai

AKA

1958

Lithograph in colors

Alone by Kinoshita Tomio

Alone

1958

Woodblock print, ink and color on paper

Altar by Hodaka Yoshida

Altar

1956

Woodblock print

An Oharame Girl Carrying Firewood on Her Head by Tomikichiro Tokuriki

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)" by Shiko Munakata

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

1939 (printed 1959)

Woodblock print

Ancester by Hodaka Yoshida

Ancester

1958

Woodblock print

Ancient City, Nara by Saito Kiyoshi

Ancient City, Nara

1954

Color woodblock print; edition 18/100

April- Shade of Cherry Blossoms by Paul Jacoulet

April- Shade of Cherry Blossoms

1958

Woodblock print

Arashiyama, Kyoto by Kawase Hasui

Arashiyama, Kyoto

n.d. [1952]

Color woodblock print

Ashura by Hodaka Yoshida

Ashura

Woodblock print, ink and color on paper

At a Hot Springs Inn by Koichi Maeda

At a Hot Springs Inn

1952

Woodblock print, ink and color on paper with mica and embossing

Atsumori, from Bunraku Doll Print Collection by Hasegawa Konobu (Sadanobu IV)

Atsumori, from Bunraku Doll Print Collection

敦盛 — 文楽人形版画集

c. 1950s

Color woodblock print, oban format

Autumn by Onchi Koshiro

Autumn

1950

Color woodblock print

Autumn by Chizuko Yoshida

Autumn

October 1954

Woodblock print, ink and color on paper

Autumn at Fukuroda Falls, Ibaraki Prefecture (Fukuroda-no-taki no aki (Ibaraki ken) by Kawase Hasui

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) by Kawase Hasui

Autumn in Funatsu (Funatsu no aki)

Funatsu no aki

1953

Color woodblock print

Back cover (part 10) by Amano Kazumi

Back cover (part 10)

July 1957

Woodblock print, ink on paper

Baishinji Beach, Iyo (Iyo Baishinji no hama) by Kawase Hasui

Baishinji Beach, Iyo (Iyo Baishinji no hama)

1950

Color woodblock print

Bamboo Grove of Saga by Takeji Asano

Bamboo Grove of Saga

嵯峨竹林

1952

Woodblock print

Bamboo Grove Under a Crescent Moon - 月下竹林 by Kotozuka Eiichi

Bamboo Grove Under a Crescent Moon - 月下竹林

1950

Watercolor

Beauty by Shiko Munakata

Beauty

1958

Ink on paper

Before Mountaineering by Umetaro Azechi

Before Mountaineering

1954

Woodblock print, ink and color on paper

Before Moutaineering (B) by Umetaro Azechi

Before Moutaineering (B)

1954

Woodblock print, ink and color on paper

Benten Shrine at Inokashira Pond by Shiro Kasamatsu

Benten Shrine at Inokashira Pond

井之頭弁天

1953

Woodblock print

Bird (Tori) by Hagiwara Hideo

Bird (Tori)

Bird (Tori) by Hideo Hagiwara

Bird (Tori)

1958

Color woodblock print; edition 18/30

Bird and Eye (Tori to gankyutai) by Fukita Fumiaki

Bird and Eye (Tori to gankyutai)

1959

Color woodblock print; edition 4/50

Bird and Eyeballs by Fukita Fumiaki

Bird and Eyeballs

1958

Woodblock print, ink and color on paper

Bird and Fox by Shiko Munakata

Bird and Fox

1958

Woodblock print

Bird Beginning Flight (Tobitatsu tori) by Shima Tamami

Bird Beginning Flight (Tobitatsu tori)

飛び立つ鳥

1959

Color woodblock print

Birds by Shima Tamami

Birds

1959

Color woodblock print

Black Cat by Tomoo Inagaki

Black Cat

c. 1960

Color woodblock print

Black Vessel (Kuroi utsuwa) by Toru Mabuchi

Black Vessel (Kuroi utsuwa)

1959

Color woodblock print; edition 20/20

Bookplate (Art Deco) by Jun'ichiro Sekino

Bookplate (Art Deco)

mid–20th century

Etching

Boy and Rooster by Jun'ichiro Sekino

Boy and Rooster

1957

Woodblock print

Boy and Rooster in Moonlight by Jun'ichiro Sekino

Boy and Rooster in Moonlight

1959

Woodblock print

Boy Holding a Cat by Jun'ichiro Sekino

Boy Holding a Cat

1957

Woodblock print

Bridge by Tadashige Ono

Bridge

1959

Print

Buddha Asyura (D) by Saito Kiyoshi

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

View all eras