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
Rainbow- LE
Woodblock print
Star of the West
Woodblock print
Seven Stars
Woodblock print
Southwest Star - Nansei no Hoshi
Woodblock print
Poem 67-68
1967
Color woodblock print; edition 45/201
calligraphic form 1 - poem
Woodblock print
Poem 70-11, Shôwa period, 1970
Woodblock print
Work - Mu-2
1961
Woodblock print, ink and color on embossed paper
Untitled (paul-binnie)
Woodblock print
Curtain of Flowers
1981–86
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Poem 70 - 28 (Word)
1970
Woodblock print, ink and color on embossed paper
Poem 70-76
Woodblock print
Poem 72-2
Woodblock print
Poem 71-20
Woodblock print
Work 73-101
Woodblock print
Work (Waku)
1958
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Work 73 - 8 - B (Nothing)
Woodblock print
Mask (14)
Woodblock print
Opus No. 2
1952
Color woodblock print
Goyu: Scarlet Latticework
Woodblock print
Victorian Invention, An Aerial Cycle (26/50)
Woodblock print
poem. 68-51
Woodblock print
Poem 18
Woodblock print
Poem 70-21 (Language)
Woodblock print
Work Stone
1959
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Work 73-50-B (Nothing)
Woodblock print
A Nebula (No. 3)
1987
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
A Cliff (3)
1995
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Mandala No. 1
1998
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Three Windows
Woodblock print
Net of Compassion (67/100)
Woodblock print
Poem - 11
1971
Woodblock print, ink and color on embossed paper
Poem 10, self printed, with original folio
Woodblock print
Poem 70-3 (HITO) 150/202
Woodblock print
Poem 72 - 51 (Cooling Fan)
1972
Woodblock print, ink and color on embossed paper
Poem 69-8, Shôwa period, 1969
Woodblock print
Poem 70-22 (Language)
Woodblock print
San Mon Ban (Flowers)
Woodblock print
Work - Mago
1960s
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Circus No. 6
1968
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper with mica
Mask O
20th century
Color woodblock print
Lady No. 9
1975
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Cloud Patterns - 風もよう
Woodblock print
Hiraku
開く
Mokuhanga (Japanese water-based multi-block woodcut)
Robyn Buntin of Honolulu
Woodblock print
Private-9
Mokuhanga (Japanese water-based multi-block woodcut)
Letter from Birds
Woodblock print
Remaining Flowers
1981–86
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Poem - 12
1966
Woodblock print, ink and color on embossed paper
Poem 71 - 63 (Life)
1971
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Poem 68 - 52
1968
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Poem 70-64
Woodblock print
Work 74-57 (Sun-B)
c. 1974
Woodblock print, ink and color on embossed paper
Riu
Mokuhanga (Japanese water-based multi-block woodcut)
SUIMEN B (water surface B)
Woodblock print
![Bakchos [=Bacchus] (Bakkasu) by Hideo Hagiwara](https://data.ukiyo-e.org/mfa/images/sc206641.jpg)
Bakchos [=Bacchus] (Bakkasu)
Woodblock print
Play Ground (2)
Shōwa period, dated 1964
Woodblock print; ink on paper with signature reading "Hideo Hagiwara"
Yugijo (1) (Playground (1))
Woodblock print
Opus No. 12
1953
Woodblock print
Sui
Mokuhanga (Japanese water-based multi-block woodcut)
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.