Hanga
Taishō Era

1920s Japanese Woodblock Prints

815 prints from the 1920s in our collection, created during the Taishō Era (19121926). The brief Taishō era witnessed the birth of two pivotal movements that would revitalize Japanese printmaking. Watanabe Shozaburo launched the shin-hanga (new prints) movement, collaborating with artists like Kawase Hasui and Hiroshi Yoshida to produce exquisite landscape prints using traditional carver-printer-publisher teamwork.

Top Artists of the 1920s

Prints (815)

15th Arrondissement of Paris by Yūzō Saeki

15th Arrondissement of Paris

パリ15区街

1925

Oil on canvas

A Bar by Hasegawa Toshiyuki

A Bar

酒売り場

1927

Oil on canvas

A Boat Crossing a Large River by Tomita Keisen

A Boat Crossing a Large River

大河渡舟図

1926

Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk

A Boat Laden with Masonry, Awa Province (Ishizumu fune [Boshu]), from the series "Souvenirs of Travel, First Series (Tabi miyage dai isshu)" by Kawase Hasui

A Boat Laden with Masonry, Awa Province (Ishizumu fune [Boshu]), from the series "Souvenirs of Travel, First Series (Tabi miyage dai isshu)"

Ishizumu fune [Boshu]

1920

Color woodblock print; oban

A Canal in Venice by Hiroshi Yoshida

A Canal in Venice

1925

Woodblock print

A Japanese Beauty by Fritz Capelari

A Japanese Beauty

1920

Print

A Journey by Gen Yamaguchi

A Journey

20th century

Color woodblock print

A Merry Christmas to You by Thomas Handforth

A Merry Christmas to You

1924

Etching on paper

A Section of the Byodo Temple at Uji (Uji Byodoin no ichibu), from the series "Souvenirs of Travel, Second Series (Tabi miyage dai nishu)" by Kawase Hasui

A Section of the Byodo Temple at Uji (Uji Byodoin no ichibu), from the series "Souvenirs of Travel, Second Series (Tabi miyage dai nishu)"

Uji Byodoin no ichibu

1921

Color woodblock print; oban

A Spring Picnic in the Field by Shōda Kōhō

A Spring Picnic in the Field

circa 1910-1930s

Color woodblock print

A Stone Lantern on the Seashore by Shōda Kōhō

A Stone Lantern on the Seashore

circa 1910-1930s

Color woodblock print

A Water Conduit, A Scene in Sado (Mizuagehi [Sado shoken]), from the series "Souvenirs of Travel, Second Series (Tabi miyage dai nishu)" by Kawase Hasui

A Water Conduit, A Scene in Sado (Mizuagehi [Sado shoken]), from the series "Souvenirs of Travel, Second Series (Tabi miyage dai nishu)"

Mizuagehi [Sado shoken]

1921

Color woodblock print; oban

Abolition of the Han Domains and Establishment of Prefectures by Kobori Tomone

Abolition of the Han Domains and Establishment of Prefectures

廃藩置県

c. 1927 (study for the Meiji Memorial Picture Gallery commission)

Colour on paper; hanging scroll (study)

Actor Ichikawa Chūsha VII as Takechi Mitsuhide by Natori Shunsen

Actor Ichikawa Chūsha VII as Takechi Mitsuhide

1926

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

Actor Matsumoto Kōshirō VII as Sukeroku by Yamamura Toyonari

Actor Matsumoto Kōshirō VII as Sukeroku

1920

Woodblock print, ink and color on paper with mica

Actor Onoe Matsusuke IV as Gorōji in Kagatobi by Yamamura Toyonari

Actor Onoe Matsusuke IV as Gorōji in Kagatobi

1920

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

Actors Ichikawa Shōchō II as Umegawa and Kataoka Gadō XII as Chūbei by Natori Shunsen

Actors Ichikawa Shōchō II as Umegawa and Kataoka Gadō XII as Chūbei

1927

Woodblock print, ink and color on paper

After Bath by Hashiguchi Goyo

After Bath

1920 (posthumous edition)

Woodblock print

After Rain A, Shôwa period, circa 1970s by Toko Shinoda

After Rain A, Shôwa period, circa 1970s

Shôwa period, 1926-1989

Woodblock print

After the Snow Falls by Ito Shinsui

After the Snow Falls

1921

Color woodblock print

Afternoon, from the series "Sailboat Boats" by Hiroshi Yoshida

Afternoon, from the series "Sailboat Boats"

1926

Color woodblock print

Akasaka Palace, from the series Recollections of Tokyo by Hiratsuka Un'ichi

Akasaka Palace, from the series Recollections of Tokyo

1929

Color woodblock print

Akashi-cho after Rain (Akashi-cho no ugo), from the series "Twenty Views of Tokyo (Tokyo nijukkei)" by Kawase Hasui

Akashi-cho after Rain (Akashi-cho no ugo), from the series "Twenty Views of Tokyo (Tokyo nijukkei)"

1928

Color woodblock print; oban

Akitomo Kurio Trying to Save His Horse and Servant from Drowning by Kawakita Kahō

Akitomo Kurio Trying to Save His Horse and Servant from Drowning

厩戸黒尾図

before 1940

Ink and color on silk; hanging scroll

Amanohashidate in Snow (Yuki no Hashidate), from the series "Souvenirs of Travel, Second Series (Tabi miyage dai nishu)" by Kawase Hasui

Amanohashidate in Snow (Yuki no Hashidate), from the series "Souvenirs of Travel, Second Series (Tabi miyage dai nishu)"

1921

Color woodblock print; oban

Amaranthus tricolor by Inuzuka Taisui

Amaranthus tricolor

September 1929

Woodblock print, ink and color on paper

Ame- Rain — 雨 by Torii Kotondo

Ame- Rain — 雨

1929

Woodblock print

Among the Rocks by Onchi Koshiro

Among the Rocks

1929

Color woodblock print

Approaching Snow by Yamakawa Shuho

Approaching Snow

December 1927

Woodblock print, ink and color on paper

April: Sakyamuni, from the series Calendar in the Mood of the Tea Ceremony (Cha-in jûnikagetsu hangasaku), Shôwa period, dated 1956 by Shiko Munakata

April: Sakyamuni, from the series Calendar in the Mood of the Tea Ceremony (Cha-in jûnikagetsu hangasaku), Shôwa period, dated 1956

Shôwa period, 1926-1989

Woodblock print

Arifuku Spa, Iwami, from the series "Souvenirs of Travel, Third Series" (Tabi miyage dai sanshu, Iwami Arifuku onsen) by Kawase Hasui

Arifuku Spa, Iwami, from the series "Souvenirs of Travel, Third Series" (Tabi miyage dai sanshu, Iwami Arifuku onsen)

1924

Color woodblock print

Asau, from the series "Fifty Kyogen Plays (Kyogen gojuban)" by Tsukioka Gyokusei

Asau, from the series "Fifty Kyogen Plays (Kyogen gojuban)"

1927 (Published)

Color woodblock print

At a Hot Spring Inn by Hashiguchi Goyo

At a Hot Spring Inn

1920

N/A

Autumn by Yamakawa Shuho

Autumn

1927

Woodblock print, ink and color on paper

Autumn at Arayu by Takahashi Shotei

Autumn at Arayu

新湯の秋

c. 1920

Color woodblock print

Autumn at Himeji Castle, Shôwa period, dated 1949 by Okiie Hashimoto

Autumn at Himeji Castle, Shôwa period, dated 1949

Shôwa period, 1926-1989

Woodblock print

Autumn at the Arayu Hot Spring, Shiobara by Kawase Hasui

Autumn at the Arayu Hot Spring, Shiobara

Autumn 1920

Woodblock print, ink and color on paper

Autumn Foliage at Hakkodasan by Hiroshi Yoshida

Autumn Foliage at Hakkodasan

1929

Color woodblock print

Autumn in Ohara (right screen) by Tomita Keisen

Autumn in Ohara (right screen)

大原の秋

1921

One of a pair of folding screens; ink and color on paper

Autumn in the Hyakka-en by Hiroshi Yoshida

Autumn in the Hyakka-en

1926

Color woodblock print

Autumn Landscape by Tomita Keisen

Autumn Landscape

秋景図

1921

Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk

Autumn Leaves by Ito Shinsui

Autumn Leaves

紅葉

1925

Color woodblock print

Autumn Leaves by Torii Kotondo

Autumn Leaves

紅葉

1929

Color woodblock print

Azalea in Pot by Ohara Koson

Azalea in Pot

c. 1928–1930

Woodblock print, ink and color on paper

Baby and Toy Cow by Yasuo Kuniyoshi

Baby and Toy Cow

circa 1921

Ink, pen, and drybrush on paper

Bamboo Grove by Imao Keinen

Bamboo Grove

竹林図

About 1920

Pair of six-panel screens; ink and gold leaf on paper

Banana Tree and Sparrow (Bananier et moineau) by Tsuji Kakō

Banana Tree and Sparrow (Bananier et moineau)

芭蕉に雀図

c. 1920

Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk

Bando Mitsugoro VII as Soga no Goro by Natori Shunsen

Bando Mitsugoro VII as Soga no Goro

七代目坂東三津五郎の曽我五郎

1926

Color woodblock print

Bar Bacchus in Ginza, from the series Pictures of Ginza, First Series by Oda Kazuma

Bar Bacchus in Ginza, from the series Pictures of Ginza, First Series

January 1929

Color lithograph

Bar Sourire, no. 3 from the series Pictures of Ginza, Second Series by Oda Kazuma

Bar Sourire, no. 3 from the series Pictures of Ginza, Second Series

1929

Color lithograph

Bar-tailed Godwits and Reeds by Ohara Koson

Bar-tailed Godwits and Reeds

1926

Color woodblock print; oban

Beach Shed at Himi in Etchū Province by Kawase Hasui

Beach Shed at Himi in Etchū Province

September 6, 1921

Woodblock print, ink and color on paper

Beauty by Shōda Kōhō

Beauty

early 20th century

Color woodblock print; tanzaku (pillar print)

Bee Next to Flowering Wisteria by Ohara Koson

Bee Next to Flowering Wisteria

1920s

Woodblock print, ink and color on paper

Before a Mirror by Hiroshi Yoshida

Before a Mirror

1927

Woodblock print

Before a Thunderstorm by Ito Shinsui

Before a Thunderstorm

March 1920

Woodblock print, ink and color on paper

Benito by Thomas Handforth

Benito

1928

Etching on cream laid paper

Benten Kozō Kikunosuke by Alexandre Iacovleff

Benten Kozō Kikunosuke

弁天小僧菊之助

1929

Sepia on paper

Bijin by Pond in Snow by Shōda Kōhō

Bijin by Pond in Snow

circa 1920-1935

Color woodblock print

Bird in Plum Tree (Year of the Snake) by Hiratsuka Un'ichi

Bird in Plum Tree (Year of the Snake)

1929

Woodcut print

Nearby Decades

Frequently Asked Questions

Hanga catalogues 815 Japanese woodblock prints created during the 1920s (Taishō Era, 1912–1926).

The 1920s fall within the Taishō Era (大正時代), which ran from 1912 to 1926.

Hiroshi Yoshida, Kawase Hasui, and Ohara Koson are among the artists with the most 1920s prints in our collection.

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