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
Mitate No.94 - Well (Ido)
2015
Untitled (tatsuo-kawashima)
Woodblock print
Mitate No.69 - Crested Kimono (Mon-tsuki)
2004
Mitate No.63 - Clogs (Gesoku)
2004
Mitate No.85 - Dai Monji (Daimonji)
2010
Mitate No.81 - Feather Mantle (Hagoromo)
2007
96 Gradations
Rainbow silkscreen on paper
Unknown
1961
Woodblock print
Orchard No. 1
Woodblock print
Ine No. 4
Woodblock print
S. No. 9
1968
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Masks No. 3, Shôwa period, dated 1957
Woodblock print
Untitled (kan-kawada)
Woodblock print
![A Study (No. 1) [Shusaku (sono ichi)] by Kinoshita Tomio](https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/30197738-b89a-091b-1495-d5d35ba94a97/full/843,/0/default.jpg)
A Study (No. 1) [Shusaku (sono ichi)]
1959
Color woodblock print; edition 1/50
Mitate No.62 - Caddy Spoon (Mei)
2003
Mitate No.17 - Rolling Stones (Ten-seki)
1999
Mitate No.56 - Pride (Hokori)
2002
Mitate No.31 - Shadow (Mono-kage)
2000
Mitate No.65 - Koetsu Box (Koetsu)
2004
Number 187
Woodblock print
Work 67. 3
Woodblock print
Untitled (sawada-tetsuro)
Woodblock print
Work 69 . 23
Woodblock print
Untitled (kanpo-yoshikawa)
Woodblock print
Untitled (ito-sozan)
Woodblock print
Untitled (insho-domoto)
Woodblock print
Untitled (ansei-uchima)
Woodblock print
An00558475 001 L
Woodblock print
Lyrice of Season No.2
Woodblock print
Form
1966
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Mitate No.35 - Front of the Back (Ushiro no Shomen)
2000
Nothingness (Kyomu)
2010
Color woodblock print
Mitate No.86 - Celebration Drink (Masuzake)
2010
Untitled (hiromitsu-takahashi)
Woodblock print
Incarnation
1958
Color woodblock print
Untitled (takashi-henmi)
Woodblock print
Butterflies—Swarming
1977
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Round Shadow No. 1
1957
Color woodblock print
Untitled (tanaka-ryohei)
Woodblock print
Asian Collection Internet Auction
Woodblock print
Mitate No.55 - Fire (Taki-bi)
2002
Mitate No.34 - Snail (Katatsumuri)
2000
Mitate No.41- Edge (En)
2001
Mitate No.95 - Hannya Mask (Hannya)
2015
Whirlwind
Woodblock print
Requiem (Chinkon) No. 2
1956
Color relief print
Kyoto Series, No. 22B
1962
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Tsukioka Kogyo
Woodblock print
Mitate No.33 - Fly (Hae)
2000
Mitate No.13 - Solitude (Hitori-mushi)
1999
Mitate No.72 - Nation (Kuni)
2004
Mitate No.90 - Scissors (Hasami)
2011
Untitled (amano-kunihiro)
Woodblock print
No Series Tipsy
Woodblock print
Untitled (igawa-sengai)
Woodblock print
Unasaka-B
25/80, 1986
Woodblock print
906154591
Woodblock print
5049161402710037
Woodblock print
Mitate No.30 - Shells (Kaigara)
2000
Mitate No.43 - Sacred Ropes (Shime-nawa)
2001
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.