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
Get a Geta
9/150, 2005
Woodblock print
Lucky Tabi 3
35/200, 2005
Woodblock print
Little Comet
146/200, 2006
Woodblock print
Enclosure 32
1967
Color woodblock print; edition 7/50
Yama Kabuto Q 32/50
Woodblock print
Personifler 26
Woodblock print
Yama Kabuto Q, LE
Woodblock print
Surface of the Earth A
1967
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Kitaoka Fumio
Woodblock print
Galloping Horses
Woodblock print
Strain One's Ears
Paper print
Dream- LE
Woodblock print
Face, Shôwa period,
Woodblock print
Evidence A, Shôwa period, dated 1963
Woodblock print
Small Picture
Woodblock print
Floral design
Woodblock print
Swing Swing Swing
55/150, 2008
Woodblock print
Whisper Whisper 2
29/150, 2004
Woodblock print
Geese in Flight
Woodblock print
Enclosure 11
Woodblock print
Morning 39
Woodblock print
Only a Little Hope
1956
Color woodblock print
Shadow of the Sunset
Woodblock print
Birthmark
Woodblock print
Fushoku D (Wind Erosion D)
Woodblock print
Floating Shadow (Hyoei) Yellow
1964
Color woodblock print; edition 3/20
Romantic Chiyogami
Woodblock print
Blue on Blue
21/150, 2009
Woodblock print
Kumadori (Namazu)
Artist Proof, 2002
Woodblock print
Miss Sunshine
4/250, 2007
Woodblock print
Little Comet 2
178/200, 1996
Woodblock print
Imagination 47
Woodblock print
Distant Memory 32
Woodblock print
Crows C
Woodblock print
Morning 92
Woodblock print
Profile A
Woodblock print
Akebono (Dawn)
Woodblock print
To Tell the Truth
Woodblock print
Fishes in drinking glass
Woodblock print
KOUGENNOASA B (morning of tableland B)
Woodblock print
KOUGEN NO ASA B (Highlands in the Morning)
Woodblock print
Whisper Whisper 3
A.P., 2005
Woodblock print
La La La
54/150, 2008
Woodblock print
Fishes (Sakana)
1958
Color woodblock print; edition 17/50
Mask
Woodblock print
Inside a Cage
Woodblock print
Tree
Woodblock print
Oshichi A
お七A
Kappazuri stencil print
Tokyo Tower
Etching, aquatint, drypoint, and roulette
Shoto
Intaglio printed in color on Arches wove paper
Elle et lui
Etching
Work V-5
Happy Kimono (AI)
150/150, 2001
Woodblock print
Doves
Woodblock print
Enclosure (3)
1965
Color woodblock print; edition 10/30
Small Desire
Woodblock print
Imperial Palace
Woodblock print
Traces of Time
Woodblock print
Closed Room W-124
Woodblock print
Camouflaged World 2
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.