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 (10)
Artists who published with Watanabe Shozaburo
Notable Works
A Ball, from the series "Twelve Subjects of Children" (Komodo junidai, temari)
February 1931
Color 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 Nocturnal Fuji, Lake Ashino (Ashino no yu Fuji)
Ashino no yu Fuji
1935
Color 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 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
Abumi Promontory (Abumisaki)
Abumisaki
1950
Color woodblock print
After the Bath
湯上がり
1917
Color woodblock print
After the Bath
湯上がり
1930
Color woodblock print
Afternoon at Nino Bridge, Azabu (Azabu Ninohashi no gogo), from the series "Twelve Months of Tokyo (Tokyo junikagetsu)"
Azabu Ninohashi no gogo
1921
Color woodblock print
Appoaching Dusk on Furukawa Embankment (Kure iku Furukawazutsumi)
Kure iku Furukawazutsumi
1919
Color woodblock print; nagaban
Arashiyama, Kyoto
n.d. [1952]
Color woodblock print
Asahi Bridge, Ojiya, from the series "Souvenirs of Travel, Second Series" (Tabi miyage dai nishu, Ojiya Asahibashi)
14 August 1921
Color woodblock print
Autumn at Arayu
新湯の秋
c. 1920
Color woodblock print
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
Autumn Leaves
紅葉
1929
Color woodblock print
Autumn Leaves
紅葉
1925
Color woodblock print
Bamboo in Early Summer
初夏の竹
1954
Color woodblock print
Bamboo in Summer
Woodblock print
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
Bear
Woodblock print
Before the Mirror
鏡の前
1916
Color woodblock print
Showing 24 of 351 prints
Want to rate prints by Watanabe Shozaburo artists?
Sign up to start rating