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
Blossom Flurry
Not set
Woodblock print
12 Rings
Woodblock print
Mitsuaki Sora (Sora, Mitsuaki)
Woodblock print
Discussion
Woodblock print
Family S
Woodblock print
Youth
Woodblock print
965 (ed. 36/40)
1987
Woodblock print
Untitled (okamoto-yoshimi)
Woodblock print
Water Mirror-B
41/50, 1981
Woodblock print
Ode to Water (ed. 31/50)
1978
Woodblock print
Touches W5- M.G.C.
1988
Color woodblock print
Catalog- complete works
Woodblock print
White Marks 61 H.S.
2012
Woodblock print, ink on paper
Cool Breeze (Sofu)
1993
Photoetching and color woodblock print
Between Moments 5/90
Woodblock print
White Dream (Shiroi yume)
1967
Color woodblock print; edition 24/30
Album
Woodblock print
Robyn Buntin of Honolulu
Woodblock print
Untitled (gihachiro-okuyama)
Woodblock print
Shade Bone
mid 20th century
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Face
1970
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Faces, No. 3
Woodblock print
Freak
Woodblock print
Asian Collection Internet Auction
Woodblock print
![[abstracted man holding object] by Nakao Yoshitaka](https://1.api.artsmia.org/800/135965.jpg)
[abstracted man holding object]
1957
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Petit Noir
Woodblock print
SAN II (Bright II)
Woodblock print
513-S (ed 15/60)
Woodblock print
Untitled (gen-yamaguchi)
Woodblock print
Three Masks (Kamen 3)
1957
Color woodblock print
Attention Sweet Words
Woodblock print
Herb, Keys and Pretenders
Woodblock print
Touches 2J-CSB
1985
Woodblock print, color on paper
Nightscape
Woodblock print
Light from Afar
Homage to Fujio
1981
Color woodblock print
Robyn Buntin of Honolulu
Woodblock print
507-S (ed 48/50)
Woodblock print
Folder and Info
Woodblock print
Murmur
Woodblock print
Masks #4
1958
Woodblock print, ink on paper
Kurai yokan (Premonition B)
Woodblock print
White Diary 38/45
Woodblock print
550-S (ed19/50)
Woodblock print
Harvard Art Museum
Woodblock print
Untitled (lilian-may-miller)
Woodblock print
A Fedrifuge
Woodblock print
Mask # 4
Woodblock print
Drink Mystique
Woodblock print
Unknown title
Woodblock print
Stones (I)
1960
Color woodblock print; edition 5/30
Lost Paradise 4
1972
Sacred Day
1970
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Stars before Dawn (Mimei boshi)
1970
Color woodblock print; edition 10/50
Asian Collection Internet Auction
Woodblock print
Tanaka Kiyokichi
Woodblock print
Untitled (takumi-shinagawa)
Woodblock print
Drift
Mixed-media print (mokuhanga, silkscreen, intaglio, plant-based pigment)
Screen 3
Mixed-media print (mokuhanga, silkscreen, intaglio, plant-based pigment)
Calamity, Shôwa period, dated 1960
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.