Watanabe Shozaburo
渡邊庄三郎
About Watanabe Shozaburo
Watanabe Shozaburo (1885-1962) was the single most important figure in the shin-hanga movement, serving as both publisher and creative visionary. He founded his publishing house, Watanabe Hanga-ten (渡邊版画店), in Tokyo in 1908 and almost single-handedly revived the traditional collaborative system of Japanese woodblock printmaking in the twentieth century. Under the shin-hanga model, Watanabe recruited talented artists to create designs, which were then carved and printed by master craftsmen under his direction.
Watanabe published the works of nearly every major shin-hanga artist, including Kawase Hasui, Ito Shinsui, Ohara Koson (Shoson), Tsuchiya Koitsu, Shiro Kasamatsu, Natori Shunsen, Torii Kotondo, and many others. His publishing house was destroyed in the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, along with hundreds of woodblocks, but he rebuilt and continued publishing until his death. Watanabe was instrumental in marketing shin-hanga prints to Western collectors, establishing the international reputation of the movement. His seal (渡邊) appears on the vast majority of shin-hanga prints from the movement's golden age.
Artists (20)
Artists who published with Watanabe Shozaburo
Takahashi Shotei
高橋松亭
1871–1945
Ishikawa Toraji
石川寅治
1875–1964
Ohara Koson
小原古邨
1877–1945
Hirano Hakuhō
平野白峰
1879–1957
Kitano Tsunetomi
北野恒富
1880–1947
Hashiguchi Goyo
橋口五葉
1880–1921
Oda Kazuma
織田一磨
1882–1956
Kawase Hasui
川瀬巴水
1883–1957
Miki Suizan
三木翠山
1883–1957
Fritz Capelari
フリッツ・カペラリ
1884–1950
Yamamura Toyonari
山村豊成
1885–1942
Natori Shunsen
名取春仙
1886–1960
Elizabeth Keith
エリザベス・キース
1887–1956
Komura Settai
小村雪岱
1887–1940
Shiro Kasamatsu
笠松紫浪
1898–1991
Yamakawa Shuho
山川秀峰
1898–1944
Ito Shinsui
伊東深水
1898–1972
Kobayakawa Kiyoshi
小早川清
1899–1948
Torii Kotondo
鳥居言人
1900–1976
Shimura Tatsumi
志村立美
1907–1980
Notable Works
#5 Glossy dark hair
Not set
Woodblock print
#51 Scene from Act IV
c. 1935
Woodblock print
#6 Rouge
1931
Woodblock print
#88 Scene from Act VII
c. 1935
Woodblock print
12 Aspects of Women, YUKI (Snow)
Edition of 100, 1980
Woodblock print
A Ball, from the series "Twelve Subjects of Children" (Komodo junidai, temari)
February 1931
Color woodblock print
A Basket with Various Flowers
1932
Color woodblock print
A beauty in Shintomi-cho district
Woodblock print
![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](https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/1d1e45a7-2153-e530-e16e-4ea11472525c/full/843,/0/default.jpg)
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 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 hood — Okoso-Zukin
Woodblock print
A Lady in Under Kimono
Woodblock print
A Nap (Utatane)
1930
Woodblock print
A Nocturnal Fuji, Lake Ashino (Ashino no yu Fuji)
Ashino no yu Fuji
1935
Color woodblock print
A pair of Flying Ducks and Moon
before 1912
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
A parody of Hanshin and Shide, two chinese monks
1941
Woodblock print
A Picture of the Warrior Dai-Nanko — 大楠公之図
Woodblock print
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 Temple in Rain Christmas Card
description
Woodblock print
A View of Mt. Fuji
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](https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/98bdd980-0d90-ac1c-9be2-35b57d8973e7/full/843,/0/default.jpg)
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
A Whisper
1954
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper with mica
A Woman in Western Dress
1960
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Showing 24 of 1351 prints
Frequently Asked Questions
Watanabe Shozaburo (1885-1962) was the single most important figure in the shin-hanga movement, serving as both publisher and creative visionary. He founded his publishing house, Watanabe Hanga-ten (渡邊版画店), in Tokyo in 1908 and almost single-handedly revived the traditional collaborative system of Japanese woodblock printmaking in the twentieth century. Under the shin-hanga model, Watanabe recruited talented artists to create designs, which were then carved and printed by master craftsmen under his direction.
Watanabe Shozaburo was active 1908–1962 (渡邊庄三郎).
Notable artists published by Watanabe Shozaburo include Takahashi Shotei, Ishikawa Toraji, and Ohara Koson, among 17 others.
Hanga catalogues 1351 prints published by Watanabe Shozaburo, spanning the publisher's full active period.
Want to rate prints by Watanabe Shozaburo artists?
Sign up to start rating