Modern Japanese Woodblock Prints - Part Two

Russian Sailor
by Kyuho Noda

In this article we continue to introduce some lesser known Japanese prints artists of the Taisho (1912-1926) and the Showa period 1926-1989 - Kyuho Noda, Saburosuke Okada, Hiromitsu Nakazawa, Keigetsu Kikuchi and Kiyokata Kaburagi.

Kyuho Noda 1879-1971

Kyuho Noda was born in Tokyo. He studied together with Kogyo Terazaki Japanese print art at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts. He collaborated with Tsunetomi Kitano. Kyuho Noda contributed to the series Pictures of famous places in Osaka and Kobe - hanshin meisho zue and to The complete works of Chikamatsu in 1923.

Saburosuke Okada 1869-1939

Heroine Osan

Saburosuke Okada was born in Saga prefecture. He studied Western-style painting and became a professor at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts in 1896. From 1897 to 1902 he was on an official mission of the Ministry of Education in France. There he studied painting with Raphael Colling and learned the Western technique of engraving. Back in Japan he worked with metal-plate techniques - etchings and engravings. In 1931 Saburosuke Okada founded the Japan Print Association and became its first chairman. In 1937 he received the Order of Cultural Merit.

Hiromitsu Nakazawa 1874-1964

Heroine Matsukaze

Hiromitsu Nakazawa was born in Toyko. At the Tokyo School of Fine Arts he studied Western painting under Seiki Kuroda from 1896 to 1900. Famous is his image of a woman diver - Heroine Matsukaze - contributed to the Complete Collection of Chikamatsu in 1923. Hiromitsu Nakazawa received several honors and prizes after World War II.

Keigetsu Kikuchi 1879-1955

Heroine Koharu

Keigetsu Kikuchi was born in Nagano prefecture with the given name Kikuchi Kanji. He traveled in Europe during the twenties with two of his art colleagues. Back in Japan he became a teacher of Japanese print art at the Kyoto City School of Fine Arts and Crafts and at the Kyoto City School of Painting. His favorite subjects were Bijin-ga - images of beautiful women. In 1934 he was honored by being appointed a member of the Imperial Art Board and in 1937 as a member of the Imperial Art Academy.

Kiyokata Kaburagi 1878-1973

Heroine Osai

Kiyokata Kaburagi was born as the son of a novelist and newspaper editor. His teachers were Tsukioka Yoshitoshi and Mizuno Toshikata. He worked as a painter, illustrator and printmaker. He is best known for his bijin-ga designs. Kiyokata Kaburagi was very influential on some of the Shin Hanga artists like Shinsui Ito and Hasui Kawase. He received the Order of Cultural Merit in 1954.

Literature sources used for this article

Helen Merritt and Nanako Yamada, "Guide to Modern Japanese Woodblock Prints: 1900-1975", published by University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, ISBN 0-8248-1732-X
The Female Image - 20th century prints of Japanese beauties, ABE PUBLISHING LTD., Tokyo & Hotei Publishing Leiden, ISBN 90-74822-20-7

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