Shotei      also Takahashi Hiroaki

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Shotei, also known as Hiroaki Takahashi, was one of the first artists producing Shin Hanga prints for Watanabe from 1907 on. The artist used the name Shotei until 1922 and afterwards Hiroaki or Komei. Takahashi Shotei probably died in August 1945 in Hiroshima by the atomic bomb. Shotei had produced some 500 print designs by 1923, which were all destroyed in the Great Kanto earthquake. He designed some 250 prints after the earthquake, most for Watanabe, but also for Fusui Gabo and Shobido Tanaka.
Catalog Shotei

Hideo Nishiyama      

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Hideo Nishiyama was born in 1911 in Kyoto. He graduated from the Kyoto City Specialist School of Painting. Among his graphic works is a series "twelve Views of Kyoto", which was published by Unsodo in 1948.
Catalog Hideo Nishiyama

Hide Kawanishi      

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Hide Kawanishi (1894-1965) was born in Kobe as the son of an affluent family of merchants and ship-owners with a long tradition in commerce. The artist is considered a self-taught Sosaku Hanga artist. Typical for his print designs is the absence of black outlines. He did not like them and therefore had no admiration for classical Ukiyo-e. Hide Kawanishi took the subjects for his prints mainly from his hometown of Kobe. He preferred strong colors.
Catalog Hide Kawanishi

Harunobu Suzuki      

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Harunobu (1724-1770) is famous for being one of the early printmakers who took full advantage of the invention of multi-color (polychrome) printing. His prints depict the life of the noblemen, charming girls and courtesans in Edo (former name for Tokyo).
Catalog Harunobu Suzuki

Kajita Hanko      Kuchi-e

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Hanko Kajita (1870-1917) belongs to the generation of Meiji artists who earned their living mainly with kuchi-e, frontispiece illustrations of popular novels published by newspapers. At the turn of the century Kajita had established his own private school in Tokyo. He had great influence on the younger generation of artists and trained artists like Maeda Seison, Togyo Okumara and Kokei Kobayashi. Hanko Kajita died at the age of only 41 of tuberculosis.
Catalog Kajita Hanko

Haku Maki      

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Haku Maki (1924-2000) was a student of Koshiro Onchi. Today he is one of the grand old masters of abstract modern Japanese printmaking and the influence of Koshiro Onchi is obvious. Haku Maki has a few characteristic design elements - deep embossing and the use of distorted Chinese characters. The artist's reputation is international. Haku Maki uses mixed media and woodblock techniques.
Catalog Haku Maki

Ginko Adachi      

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Ginko Adachi worked as a war correspondant and illustrator during the Sino-Japanese war. Besides war prints he produced actor portraits. Little is known about his life. He was born under the real name of Adachi Heishichi. Ginko studied with the Western-style painter Goseda Horyu I. Ginko made designs for prints of the Boshin rebellion in 1870.
Catalog Ginko Adachi

Gesso Yoshimoto      

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Gesso Yoshimoto, 1881-1936, designed woodblock prints of landscape scenes and kacho-e - images of birds and flowers.
Catalog Gesso Yoshimoto

Goyo Hashiguchi      

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Goyo Hashiguchi, 1880-1921, was born as the grandson of a samurai in Kagoshima City in the province of Kyushu. He had studied Western art at the Tokyo Academy of Fine Arts. Goyo Hashiguchi was extremely gifted and graduated as best student. In 1915 he produced his first original Shin Hanga print - Woman at the bath. It was published by Watanabe. Unfortunately Goyo Hashiguchi died at the age of 41 of meningitis. Before his death, Goyo Hashiguchi had created and published another thirteen prints under his own supervision. After his death seven more prints were published by his heirs.
Catalog Goyo Hashiguchi

Fumio Kitaoka      

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Fumio Kitaoka was born in 1918 in Tokyo. He studied at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts and as an experienced artist after World War II in Paris at the Ecole Nationale des Beaux Arts Francaise from 1955-1956. In the 1960s he taught art in the USA. Fumio Kitaoka exhibited in international biennales in Asia, America and Europe. During his late years colorful landscapes are typical for him. In spite of his age Fumio Kitaoka has exhibited regularly in the prestigious CWAJ print shows in Tokyo - in 2005 it was his 46th participation out of 50 shows altogether!
Catalog Fumio Kitaoka