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
Mitate No.98 Wind Chime (Fuurin)
2016
Untitled (gesso-yoshimoto)
Woodblock print
Moring Glories — 朝がお
Woodblock print
Okumura, Koichi
Woodblock print
Koho
Woodblock print
Diary: February 28th, 1994 (b), Two Melons
1994
Woodblock print
Mitate No.65 - Koetsu Box (Koetsu)
2004
Mixed flowers
Woodblock print
Untitled (koho-shoda)
Woodblock print
Mitate No.63 - Clogs (Gesoku)
2004
Grapes
Woodblock print
Bouteilles et noix
1961
Greeting Card
c. 1950
Woodblock print
Fairy Tales in the Shell / Ichimoku-shu (First Thursday Collection, Vol 2)
Woodblock print
No. 7- Flowers (1)
Woodblock print
Objet No. 2
1954
Woodblock and object print
Roses
1927
Woodblock print, ink and colors on paper
Firewood (Maki)
1960
Color woodblock print; Artist's proof (Epreuve d'artiste)
Painted Dolls
Woodblock print
Clay Images
1950
Color woodblock print
Haniwa (2)
1946
Color woodblock print
Books
1949
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Caricature No.1 (Bread and Match)
Woodblock print
Morning Glories
Woodblock print
Pomegranates and Grapes
1879–81
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Flowers of Japanese Silver Leaves
c. 1928–1930
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Object No. 4
Woodblock print
Pansy
Woodblock print
Fishing Baskets
c. 1950-60s
Color woodblock print
Fishes in drinking glass
Woodblock print
Coral
Woodblock print
Haniwa (A.1)
1962
Color woodblock print; edition 16/200
Obi (Sash)
Woodblock print
Ginger
1953
Color woodblock print
Cattleya (2)
Woodblock print
Two Doll Figures
20th century
Woodblock print
Mirror (Kagami)
Woodblock print
Unknown, Flowers 1
Woodblock print
A Basket with Various Flowers
1932
Color woodblock print
Kaki
Woodblock print
Ace of Hearts
1978
Color woodblock print; edition 80/128
Haniwa Doll (B)
Woodblock print
Haniwa Pair
Woodblock print
Clay Image
1953
Color woodblock print; edition 45/50
Nasturtium
1953
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Glorious Lemon
2023
Etching and aquatint with chine-collé
Cosmos
Woodblock print
Lilies
Woodblock print
Wan Lei Nah
2024
Lithograph
The Four Seasons
2019
Mokuhanga (suite of 4 woodblock prints)
Blizz
2018
Lithograph
Guys and Fries
2018
Lithograph
M
2018
Lithograph
Winstead's
2018
Lithograph
Jazz
2017
Lithograph
POP CORN!
2016
Mokuhanga on Tosa paper
Promise
2016
Mokuhanga (woodblock print)
Four Seasons
2019
Mokuhanga (woodblock print)
Daffodil
Woodblock print
Grass
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.