Sōsaku-hanga (創作版画,"creative prints") was anart movement ofwoodblock printing which was conceived in early 20th-century Japan. It stressed the artist as the sole creator motivated by a desire for self-expression, and advocated principles of art that is "self-drawn" (自画jiga), "self-carved" (自刻jikoku) and "self-printed" (自摺jizuri). As opposed to the parallelshin-hanga ("new prints") movement that maintained the traditionalukiyo-e collaborative system where the artist, carver, printer, and publisher engaged in division of labor.
The birth of thesōsaku-hanga movement was signaled byKanae Yamamoto's (1882–1946) small printFisherman in 1904. Departing from theukiyo-e collaborative system, Yamamoto made the print solely on his own: drawing, carving, and printing the image. Such principles of "self-drawn", "self-carved" and "self-printed" became the foundation of the movement, which struggled for existence in prewar Japan, and gained its momentum and flourished in postwar Japan as the genuine heir to theukiyo-e tradition. In practice, however, the distinction ofsosaku-hanga to other movements was not so distinct. For example, one of the leading artists,Kōshirō Onchi, commissioned carvers, such as Yamagishi Kazue, and printers, such as his studentJun'ichirō Sekino, to produce his work.
The 1951São Paulo Art Biennial witnessed the success of the creative print movement. Both of the Japanese winners, Yamamoto andKiyoshi Saitō (1907–1997) were printmakers, who outperformed Japanese paintings (nihonga), Western-style paintings (yōga), sculptures and avant-garde. Othersōsaku-hanga artists such as Kōshirō Onchi (1891–1955),Un'ichi Hiratsuka (1895–1997),Sadao Watanabe (1913–1996) andMaki Haku (1924–2000) are also well known in the West.
The creative print movement was one of the many manifestations of the rise of theindividual after decades ofmodernization. In both artistic and literary circles, there emerged at the turn of the century expressions of the "self". In 1910,Kōtarō Takamura's (1883–1956) "A Green Sun" encouraged artists' individual expression: "I desire absolute freedom of art. Consequently I recognize the limitless authority of individuality of the artist ... Even if two or three artists should paint a "green sun", I would never criticize them for I myself may see a green sun". In 1912, in "Bunten and the Creative Arts" (Bunten to Geijutsu),Natsume Sōseki (1867–1916) states that "art begins with the expression of the self and ends with the expression of the self". These two essays marked the beginning of the intellectual discussion of the "self", which immediately found echo in the art scene. 1910 witnessed the first publication of a monthly magazine called White Birch (Shirakaba), the most important magazine shaping the thought of the Taishō period. Aspiring young artists organized its first exhibition in the same year.Shirakaba also sponsored exhibitions of Western art.
In its formative years, thesōsaku-hanga movement, like many others such as theshin-hanga,futurism andproletarian art movements, struggled to survive, experiment and find a voice in an art scene dominated by those mainstream arts that were well received by theBunten (Japan Art Academy).Hanga in general (includingshin-hanga) did not achieve the status of Westernoil paintings (yōga) in Japan.Hanga was considered acraft that was inferior topaintings andsculptures.Ukiyo-ewoodblock prints had always been considered as mere reproductions for mass commercial consumption, as opposed to the European view ofukiyo-e as art, during the climax ofJaponisme. It was impossible forsōsaku-hanga artists to make a living by just doing creative prints. Many of the later renownedsōsaku-hanga artists, such asKōshirō Onchi (also known as the father of the creative print movement), were book illustrators and wood carvers. It was not until 1927 thathanga was accepted by the Teiten (the former Bunten). In 1935, extracurricular classes onhanga were finally permitted.
The wartime years from 1939 to 1945 was a time of metamorphosis for the creative print movement. TheFirst Thursday Society, which was crucial to the postwar revival of Japanese prints, was formed in 1939 through the groups of people who gathered once a month in the house ofKōshirō Onchi in Tokyo to discuss subjects of woodblock prints. First initial members includedGen Yamaguchi (1896–1976) andJun'ichirō Sekino (1914–1988). American connoisseursErnst Hacker, William Hartnett andOliver Statler also attended and helped revive Western interest in Japanese prints. The First Thursday Collection (Ichimoku-shū), a collection of prints by members to circulate among each other, was produced in 1944. The group provided comradeship and a venue for artistic exchange and nourishment during the difficult war years when resources were scarce andcensorship severe.
The rebirth of the Japanese print coincided with the rebirth of Japan afterWorld War II. During the islands'occupation, American soldiers and their wives bought and collected Japanese prints as souvenirs. It can be said that Japanese prints became one of the components of postwareconomic reconstruction. With the aim of promoting "democratic art", American patronage shifted from the more traditionalshin-hanga to the modern-leaningsōsaku-hanga.Abstract art had been banned by the military government during wartime, but postwar, artists such asKōshirō Onchi turned completely to abstract art. By 1950 abstraction was the primary mode of the creative print movement, and Japanese prints were perceived as a genuine blending of East and West. The 1951São Paulo Art Biennial was Japan’s first postwar submission to an international exhibition. Notable artists such asShikō Munakata (1903–1975) andNaoko Matsubara (b. 1937) worked in thefolk art tradition (mingei), and held solo shows in theUnited States.
Contemporary Japanese prints have a rich diversity in subject matter and style.Tetsuya Noda (b. 1940) employsphotography and produces everyday qualities in his prints in the form of photographic diaries. Artists such asMaki Haku (1924–2000) andShinoda Toko (1913–2021) synthesizecalligraphy and abstract expression and produce strikingly beautiful and serene images.Sadao Watanabe worked in themingei (folk art) tradition, synthesizingBuddhist figure portrayal and WesternChristianity in his unique Biblical prints.
From the 1960s onwards, the line betweenfine art and commercialmedia became blurred.Pop and conceptual artists work with professional technicians, and possibilities for innovation are endless.
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