Still Life Prints (407)
Still life subjects (seibutsu-ga) in Japanese woodblock prints encompass arrangements of objects — flowers in vases, fruit, pottery, books, musical instruments, seasonal decorations — that reveal the aesthetic sensibilities and material culture of their era. While less prominent than landscape or figure subjects, still life prints produced some of the tradition's most technically refined works, particularly in the surimono format of privately commissioned luxury prints. The surimono tradition of the late Edo period raised still life printing to its highest level, with artists creating elaborate compositions of carefully arranged objects using metallic pigments, blind embossing (karazuri), and other special techniques. These prints, often commissioned for poetry circles or New Year celebrations, combined visual beauty with literary allusion, as each object carried symbolic meaning accessible to educated viewers. Modern still life prints developed in two directions. Shin-hanga artists produced refined floral arrangements and seasonal compositions that continued the decorative tradition. Sosaku-hanga artists used still life subjects as vehicles for formal experimentation, abstracting everyday objects into bold compositions of color and shape. Artists like Saito Kiyoshi and Watanabe Sadao transformed simple subjects — persimmons, pottery, garden stones — into modernist compositions that brought the still life tradition into dialogue with international contemporary art.
Artists Known for Still Life
Unknown- still life
Woodblock print
Sandflowers, Shôwa period, dated 1961
Woodblock print
Still Life of Vase and Flowers
Woodblock print
Making Sounds - Apple
Aquatint
Making Sounds - Orange
Aquatint
FLOWER ARRANGEMENT
Woodblock print
Ikebana- Flower Arrangement — 生花
1898
Woodblock print
Still-life: Apples on the Table
Woodblock print
Ikebana
Woodblock print
Egeresu iroha seibutsu (Still Life Illustrations of the English Alphabet)
Woodblock print
Still Life on the Grass Plot
ca. 1927
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
![Title unknown [still life with foreign pots] by Sumio Kawakami](https://1.api.artsmia.org/800/135925.jpg)
Title unknown [still life with foreign pots]
1960s
Woodblock print, ink on paper
Thanksgiving still life
Woodblock print
![Untitled [Still life of fruit] by Toru Mabuchi](https://1.api.artsmia.org/800/136033.jpg)
Untitled [Still life of fruit]
Late 1950s–early 1960s
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Beauty and IKEBANA (flower arranging)
Woodblock print
Still Life
1957
Mezzotint on white wove paper
Still life of flowers
Woodblock print
Still Life - Vase with flowers
Woodblock print
Bouquet (A)
Woodblock print
Three-Color Glazed Vase of Qianlong (1736-96 AD) with Plum Blossoms
1965
Color woodblock print
Still Life with Peaches
1954
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Unknown- still life
Woodblock print
Ikebana arrangement of Chrysanthemums, Bamboo in Basket
1781–1806
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Ikebana arrangement of Peony and Willow in Dragon Pot
1781–1806
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Two Lanterns
Woodblock print
Irises
1930s
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Thistle and Gampii
Woodblock print
Dahlias
July 1929
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Unknown, Dasies
Woodblock print
Hydrangeas
July 1929
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Morning Glories
August 1929
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Peonies in Vase
Woodblock print
Eggplants
Not set
Woodblock print
Zinnias in Vase
Woodblock print
Patterns of Yayoi
1784-1785
Corsage (T.4)
1970
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Umbrellas
Woodblock print
HANA (flowers)
Woodblock print
Fingered citron — 仏手柑
1939
Woodblock print
Tabi 42
36/200, 1995
Woodblock print
Corn Husk Doll America
1985
Woodblock print
Watanabe-shotei
1890-1891
Woodblock print
Irises
Not set
Woodblock print
Amaranthus tricolor
September 1929
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
World of Art (Vol. 13)
1891
Woodblock print
The Jades, China (Les Jades, Chine)
1940
Color woodblock print
Peonies
July 1929
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Grapes and Apples (Budo to ringo)
Budo to ringo
1940
Color woodblock print
Remaining Persimmons
Not set
Woodblock print
Two Lanterns
1963
Woodblock print
Peonies
c 1900s
color woodcut
Grapes and Apples (Budo to ringo)
1940
Color woodblock print; oban
Fan with Thistle — 薊図団
Woodblock print
Chinese Bellflower — 桔梗
Woodblock print
'7th May 1956, 8th May 1956'
2005
Torn Calendar
1941
Woodblock print
Untitled (ikeda-zuigetsu)
Woodblock print
Incense Advertising Poster
Woodblock print
Untitled (inuzuka-taisui)
Woodblock print
Untitled (inuzuka-taisui)
Woodblock print
Related Subjects
Frequently Asked Questions
Still life subjects (seibutsu-ga) in Japanese woodblock prints encompass arrangements of objects — flowers in vases, fruit, pottery, books, musical instruments, seasonal decorations — that reveal the aesthetic sensibilities and material culture of their era. While less prominent than landscape or figure subjects, still life prints produced some of the tradition's most technically refined works, particularly in the surimono format of privately commissioned luxury prints.
Ohno Bakufu, Nana Shiomi, and Hiratsuka Un'ichi are among the artists most associated with still life in our collection. Browse the full list of artists who explored this subject above.
Hanga currently catalogues 407 prints tagged with still life, spanning ukiyo-e, shin-hanga, and sōsaku-hanga traditions where applicable.