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
Manaita
Woodblock print
Camelias
Woodblock print
Grapes, 1955
Woodblock print
Untitled (inuzuka-taisui)
Woodblock print
Fallen Leaves
1942
Painting
Lemon No. 468
1976
Color woodblock and screenprint on paper; edition 20/50
Branch with Berries
Woodblock print
Untitled (inuzuka-taisui)
Woodblock print
Furoshiki (Wrapping Cloth)
early Shôwa period (1926–1989), 1926/35
Silk, plain weave; stenciled and resist dyed (yûzenzome: ita-age, suri yûzenzome, otoshizome and shigokizome)
Chigusa Kotani
Woodblock print
Lilies with bees
Woodblock print
Flowers 1
Woodblock print
Untitled (inuzuka-taisui)
Woodblock print
Untitled (inuzuka-taisui)
Woodblock print
Untitled (inuzuka-taisui)
Woodblock print
Primrose
Woodblock print
Untitled (ikeda-zuigetsu)
Woodblock print
Shade Bone
mid 20th century
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Harvest
Woodblock print
Obi - Kimono — Obi帯
Woodblock print
Red Seabream (Madai) and Japanese Pepper Leaves (Sanshō), from the series A Shoal of Fishes (Uozukushi)
19th century
Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper
Hamaguchi Yozo (1909-2000)
Woodblock print
Hemp-leaf Pattern
1913
Color woodblock print
Chrysanthemums
Woodblock print
A Bouquet in the Night
Mezzotint
Zuigetsu Ikeda
Woodblock print
Breath
Mezzotint
Worm Basket
Woodblock print
Wardrobe Made to Last
Woodblock print
Akai Mi (Red Fruits)
Woodblock print
Bean Flowers
2001
Mezzotint
Mellon Vine
2005
Mezzotint
Shrimps
1939
Color woodblock print
Lavender Flower Basket
2006
Mezzotint
Myōga
1953
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Lilies - ゆり
Woodblock print
Gladiolus
1953
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Buttercups
1983
Woodblock print; watercolor on French paper
Roses
Woodblock print
Herb, Keys and Pretenders
Woodblock print
Various artists
Woodblock print
Rats and Radishes
1926
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Rats and Root Vegetables
Woodblock print
Flowers 3
Woodblock print
7668
Woodblock print
Red Peonies
Woodblock print
Ogata Gekko
Woodblock print
Drink Mystique
Woodblock print
Cycloment
Woodblock print
Flowers 11
Woodblock print
Bakufu Ohno Familiar Fishes Of Nippon Ugui
Woodblock print
Pink Shell
1948
Color woodblock print
Eels
Woodblock print
Untitled (fujio-yoshida)
Woodblock print
Kaki To Yonashi
Woodblock print
Sherry Glass
Woodblock print
Pick of the Bunch
Mokuhanga (Japanese water-based woodblock print)
Untitled, Birds and Flowers
Woodblock print
Sample lithograph 01 (still life or landscape)
Stone lithograph
Sample lithograph 02 (still life or landscape)
Stone lithograph
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.