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
Thick Branches
Woodblock print
![Inhabit (A) [Sumu (A)] by Joichi Hoshi](https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/14e6cd5d-5c79-fc54-4722-423014057e08/full/843,/0/default.jpg)
Inhabit (A) [Sumu (A)]
1963
Color woodblock print; edition 4/50
Untitled
Woodblock print
Work B
Woodblock print
Lace
1930
Woodcut print
Tranquility
Woodblock print
Etude
Woodblock print
Memory for a Lamb
Woodblock print
Impression of Small Monument
Woodblock print
Two Exiles
Woodblock print
Dream
Woodblock print
Object A
オブジェ A
1953
Color woodblock print with collage elements
Untitled (sumio-kawakami)
Woodblock print
A Lattice Door
Woodblock print
Untitled (ota-masamitsu)
c. 1920–1975
Woodblock print
Untitled (tomoyo-jinbo)
Woodblock print
Untitled (kamei-tobei)
Woodblock print
Mitate No.10 - Smoke (Tachi-kemuri)
1998
Mitate No.2 - Wind (Kawa)
1998
Mitate No.36 - Breath (Ibuki)
2000
No. 70-A
Woodblock print
Contents
Woodblock print
Untitled (toko-shinoda)
c. 1940–2020
Woodblock print
Lyric Kyoto No. 2
1960
Color woodblock print
Print 1
Woodblock print
Mitate No.21 - Clouds (Kumo)
1999
Mitate No.19 - Sunset (Raku-jitsu)
1999
Mitate No.38 - Blind (Sudare)
2001
Mitate No.75 - Curtain (Noren)
2006
Cirrocumulus Clouds
鱗雲
1919
Color woodblock print
Iwata Sentaro Famous Works Collection - 岩田専太郎名作画集
Woodblock print
Volcano
1974
Silkscreen; edition 31/175
Untitled (naoko-matsubara)
Woodblock print
Mitate No.11 - Hokusai (Hokusai)
1998
Mitate No.32 - Butterflies (Cho-cho)
2000
Mitate No.50 - Watefall (Taki)
2002
Mitate No.52 - Mask (Men)
2002
Mitate No.98 Wind Chime (Fuurin)
2016
Mitate No.77 - Scroll (Jiku)
2006
Work 70-14
Woodblock print
Untitled (kusaka-kenji)
Woodblock print
Untitled (ishii-hakutei)
Woodblock print
Untitled (sentaro-iwata)
Woodblock print
Collection of Poems
1955
Color woodblock print
Untitled (keiko-minami)
Woodblock print
Untitled (akira-kurosaki)
Woodblock print
S. No. 10
1969
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Work (II)
1965
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Mitate No.66 - Jomon Earthenware (Jomon)
2004
Mitate No.97 - Stepping Stones (Tobi-ishi)
2016
Number 170
Woodblock print
Untitled (sekine-yoshio)
Woodblock print
Brilliance
1968
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Untitled
1979
Farm House No. 2, Shôwa period, dated 1967
Woodblock print
Untitled
1970s
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Untitled (kajita-hanko)
Woodblock print
Mitate No.22 - Lightning (Kaminari)
1999
Mitate No.18 - Wheel (Kuruma-zaka)
1999
Mitate No.29 - Wild Geese (Raku-gan)
2000
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.