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
Primrose
Woodblock print
Chabana
Etching
Wine Jug
Mezzotint
Loquat
Mezzotint
No. 168 - Torii and Persimmons
Silkscreen (serigraph)
Edo II
Etching
Tanabota
Etching
Chawan
Etching
Dahlias
Woodblock print
Peonies
1924
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Glass Cup — stacking —
2023
Lithograph (double-sided printing)
Green Gulch Seed Catalogue - Golden Beet (44/50)
Woodblock print
Curtain of Flowers
1981–86
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Peaches
1954
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
A Hundred Shades of Ink of Edo: Kiyonaga's Pipe (Edo zumi hyaku shoku: Kiyonaga no kiseru)
Woodblock print
Remaining Flowers
1981–86
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Dead Leaves
Woodblock print
Sugiura Kazutoshi
Woodblock print
Untitled (sugiura-kazutoshi)
Woodblock print
![[Pomegranate and grapes] by Henmi Takashi](https://1.api.artsmia.org/800/135818.jpg)
[Pomegranate and grapes]
early 20th century
Woodblock print, ink on paper
Bellflower #4
n.d.
Color woodblock print
Chrysanthemums #3
Woodblock print
Daffodil No 3
Woodblock print
Cactus
1932
Color woodblock print
Flowers and Vase A
Woodblock print
Yellow Flowers
Woodblock print
Celadon Censer
Woodblock print
Untitled (sugiura-kazutoshi)
Woodblock print
Cosmos No 8
Woodblock print
Kokeshi, LE
Woodblock print
Seed (Tanpotsu) LE
Woodblock print
Les Jades. Mandchoukuo
1940
Woodblock print
Kawahagi — カワハギ
Woodblock print
January 1970 calendar page with image of rubbing pad (baren)
c. 1970
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Fan, Shôwa period, before 1965
Woodblock print
When the Flame Goes Out — きえてあとなき
Woodblock print
Flounder
Woodblock print
Fukujuso and Stones
Woodblock print
Sayori- Japanese Needlefish — サヨリ
Woodblock print
Get a Geta
9/150, 2005
Woodblock print
Scene No. 10 (1)
Woodblock print
Camelia (I)
Woodblock print
Kimono Textile
Woodblock print
Dried anchovies
Woodblock print
Bera — ベラ
Woodblock print
Sardines
Woodblock print
Tabi 41
37/200, 1995
Woodblock print
Untitled (sugiura-kazutoshi)
Woodblock print
Cactus. Mers du Sud
1941
Woodblock print
Stingray
Woodblock print
Crayfish
c.1920
SUSUKI (tall grass)
Woodblock print
Dafffodil
Woodblock print
Fan
Woodblock print
Untitled (sugiura-kazutoshi)
Woodblock print
Bakufu, Ohno
Woodblock print
Ainame- Greenlings
Woodblock print
Mahaze — マハゼ
Woodblock print
Snapper- Tai — マダヒ
Woodblock print
Romantic Chiyogami
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.