Currently there is a superb exhibition of Shin hanga woodblock prints at Japan Museum SieboldHuis in Leiden, the Netherlands. It is in its last week, but the prints will be on display again at the Art & History Museum in Brussels, Belgium from the 14th of October until the 15th of January 2023. There, a number of Japanese prints from the collection of the Art & History Museum will be on display as well.
The Shin hanga movement sought to revive traditional Japanese woodblock printmaking in the early decades of the 20th century. It combined the traditional ukiyo-e method of printmaking, characterized by a division of labor between publisher, artist, carver and printer, with new artistic techniques and modifications in expressing old Japanese print themes, such as landscapes, beautiful women and birds. The movement featured artists who were of exceptional ability, such as Kawase Hasui, Hiroshi Yoshida, Ohara Koson and Kasamatsu Shiro, most at one point recruited by publisher Watanabe Shōzaburō, who was the central driving force behind the movement. Combined with skilled carvers and printers this resulted in a distinctly new style, innovative leaps and prints of the highest quality.
The exhibition provides an excellent overview of the history of the Shin hanga movement. It uses the prints to guide the visitors through the developments that the movement brought forth, all while showing some of the best of the Japanese prints of the 20th century.
Visitors of Nipponprints might recognize a number of designs currently for sale, some in early editions, and some in later editions. Though these prints are great to have, at the current moment it is impossible to find a better collection of Shin hanga prints on display than at this exhibition so we wish anyone reading this the opportunity to visit.