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

Maki Haku

巻白

1924–2000

Onchi Koshiro

恩地孝四郎

1891–1955

Nana Shiomi

塩見奈々

1956

Hiroyuki Tajima

田島博之

1911–1984

Hideo Hagiwara

萩原英雄

1913–2007

Amano Kunihiro

天野邦弘

1929–2020

#352 Kashimagawa

1998

Gelatin silver transparency on light panel

The Bath

1905

Color woodcut on ivory Japanese paper

Butterflies

1908

Color woodcut on ivory Japanese paper

A Monarch of Japan

1901

Color woodcut on ivory Japanese paper

A Day in June

1910

Color woodcut on paper

The Unwilling Dancers

1912

Color woodcut on paper

My Neighbors

1913

Color woodcut on paper

The Chase

1903

Color woodcut on paper

New Brooms

1910

Color woodcut on paper

Love and Hate

1951

Color woodblock print

Woods

1954

Color woodblock print

With the Sky and the Ground (Ten to chi to)

1961

Color woodblock print

Pinwheel (Kazaguruma)

1963

Color woodblock print

Sukiya-bashi Police Box

Woodblock print combination zinc plate and woodcut on paper

1999 - Tokyo, Japan

From Line

1977

Color pigment on canvas

Untitled

1865

Umbrella with bulls-eye pattern — 蛇の目

Not set

Woodblock print

Untitled (yamamura-toyonari)

Woodblock print

Untitled (miki-suizan)

Woodblock print

Sei Shonagon, from the series Ancient Patterns (Kodai moyo)

Meiji period (1896–1912), 1896

Woodblock print

Untitled [Two women]

Woodblock print

Untitled [musicians performing Owara-bushi]

late 1950s

Woodblock print

Untitled (inuzuka-taisui)

Woodblock print

Related Subjects

Airport Animals Architecture Autumn Foliage Bijin-ga Birds & Flowers Boats & Ships Bridges

Frequently Asked Questions

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.