Abstract Prints (2049)
Abstract prints represent a revolutionary departure in Japanese printmaking, emerging primarily through the sosaku-hanga (creative prints) movement of the mid-twentieth century. While traditional ukiyo-e and shin-hanga were rooted in representational imagery, abstract works embraced non-figurative composition, exploring color, texture, and form for their own expressive potential. The abstract turn in Japanese printmaking gained international recognition in the 1950s and 1960s, when artists like Yoshida Hodaka, Maki Haku, and Tajima Hiroyuki won major prizes at the Sao Paulo and Venice Biennales. These artists developed distinctive approaches to abstraction — from Maki's layered cement-and-ink surfaces to Tajima's vibrant geometric compositions — that drew on Japanese aesthetic principles while engaging with global modernist movements. The woodblock medium proved uniquely suited to abstract expression, offering possibilities for textural experimentation through woodgrain impression, selective inking, and the interaction between handmade washi paper and carved surfaces. Many abstract printmakers exploited the material qualities of the block itself, allowing the wood's natural grain to become an active compositional element rather than merely a vehicle for an image.
Artists Known for Abstract
Mitate No.20 - Abyss (Naraku)
1999
Mitate No.51 - Hidden Passion (Shinobu)
2002
Mitate No.24 - House (Ie)
1999
Mitate No.78 - Seat (Za)
2006
Mitate No.82 - Kite (Kuwa)
2007
Mitate No.91 - Go (Go)
2012
Buffoonery
Woodblock print
Constellation 73-8, Shôwa period, circa 1970s
Woodblock print
HOSHI-NO-TSUBOMI (Star bud)
Woodblock print
Shadow of the Sunset
Woodblock print
Manten no hoshi (Stars of the Whole Sky)
1967
Woodblock print
Image No.6 Motherhood (1)
Woodblock print
Title unknown
Woodblock print
New Skin
Woodblock print
Midnight - Ichimokushu Vol 6
Woodblock print
Cell - 4
1966
Woodblock print, color on embossed paper
Gessekka
Woodblock print
Number 79
Woodblock print
Sample monotype 01 (acrylic-on-glass series)
Acrylic-on-glass monotype
Inside a Cage
Woodblock print
Black horses
Woodblock print
Ace of Hearts
1978
Color woodblock print; edition 80/128
Hirato Nagasaki, Shôwa period, dated 1965
Woodblock print
Profile
1948
Color woodblock print
Signal K, Shôwa period, dated 1962
Woodblock print
Staring
Woodblock print
Three Horses
1940
Color woodblock print
"Prints by Munakata: Treasured Things" (Munakata hanga aizen hin)
20th century
Fiction no. 1
Woodblock print
Allegory No. 1: Famile
Woodblock print
Past
1950
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Lyric #36
Woodblock print
May - 2
early 1960s
Woodblock print, ink and color on embossed paper
Hantou-74
Woodblock print
Sample monotype 02 (acrylic-on-glass series)
Acrylic-on-glass monotype
#103 Planting the Seeds of Winds — Beginnings
2007
Etching
#11 The Edge — Recording a Life in a Fingertip
2000
Etching
#127 Spinning Round Round, I Fell
2010
Wood engraving
Space Voice — うつろな声
Woodblock print
FUMON (wind crest)
Woodblock print
Fishes in drinking glass
Woodblock print
Haniwa (2)
1946
Color woodblock print
Haniwa (A.1)
1962
Color woodblock print; edition 16/200
Impression of a Violinist (The woman violinist Negiko Suwa)
Woodblock print
Lyrique No. 5: Sudden Recollection of the Day of Agony
1950
Color woodblock print
63 - B
1963
Woodblock print, ink and color on embossed paper
#151 The Unformed Figure — Simplicity into Smaller
2011
Etching
#167 Considering Lao-tse (2)
2012
Etching
Blue Freeze
1960
Color woodblock print; edition 2/50
Akebono (Dawn)
Woodblock print
Coral
Woodblock print
Greeting Card
c. 1950
Woodblock print
Korin, Shôwa period,
Shôwa period, 1926-1989
Woodblock print
Hair
1930
Color woodblock print
Poéme No. 22: Leaf and Clouds
1953
Woodblock and object print
Devastation
Woodblock print
Lyric 28
Woodblock print
Object No. 4
Woodblock print
Lyrische No. 29, Shôwa period, dated 1953
Woodblock print
Past (posthumous edition), Shôwa period, between 1955-1978
Woodblock print
Related Subjects
Frequently Asked Questions
Abstract prints represent a revolutionary departure in Japanese printmaking, emerging primarily through the sosaku-hanga (creative prints) movement of the mid-twentieth century. While traditional ukiyo-e and shin-hanga were rooted in representational imagery, abstract works embraced non-figurative composition, exploring color, texture, and form for their own expressive potential.
Maki Haku, Onchi Koshiro, and Nana Shiomi are among the artists most associated with abstract in our collection. Browse the full list of artists who explored this subject above.
Hanga currently catalogues 2049 prints tagged with abstract, spanning ukiyo-e, shin-hanga, and sōsaku-hanga traditions where applicable.