Welcome to Nihon no hanga

“The wood-block print shows the artist’s true value: his skill as well as his shortcomings, his successes as well as his failures in the work. ”

Yoshida Hiroshi, 1939

Located in a 17th century canal house with Amsterdam School elements, Nihon no hanga is a private museum dedicated to showcase exhibitions created around a collection of 20th century Japanese prints, collected over 30 years by Elise Wessels. During our opening months in May and November, visitors are invited to join guided tours and other events in our stunning museum.

Nihon no hanga collaborates with specialists and museums around the world and our exhibitions have been received favorably by international audiences. The museum strives to further the understanding of modern and contemporary Japanese woodblock prints.

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Ono Tadashige (1909-1990) Rooftops in Amsterdam, 1933

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Did you know art competitions were held in tandem

Did you know art competitions were held in tandem with the #Olympics from 1912 to 1948? Women were also first allowed to compete in swimming in 1912. Onchi Kōshirō submitted this iconic print of a woman diving off a diving board to the competition and exhibition of art at the Los Angeles Museum of History, Science and Art on the occasion of the tenth Olympiad in Los Angeles in 1932 held between 30 July–31 August. The composition was also entered in an exhibition of contemporary Japanese prints held in Paris in 1934. Noriko Kuwahara has pointed out that this work is actually titled ‘An instant’ in the list of exhibits.

Onchi Kōshirō 恩地孝四郎 (1891–1955)
Diving (Daibingu ダイビング)
Date: 1932
Signature (blind-printed): Kō
Publisher: Self-published

Text (edited) from ‘Waves of renewal: modern Japanese prints, 1900 to 1960 Selections from the Nihon no Hanga collection, Amsterdam’, Hotei Publishing (2016), p. 221, cat. 162.

#東京オリンピック #オリンピック #tokyoolympics #olympicsart #olympicswimming #swimminggirl #1932olympics #nihonnohanga #onchikoshiro #hanga #mokuhanga #japaneseart #japanart #japaneseartwork #japanesewoodblockprint #japaneseprint #japaneseculture #woodcut #woodcutprint #woodblockprint #bijin #sosakuhanga #creativeprint #創作版画 #美人画 #日本美術 #版画 #日本の版画 #木版画

Torii Kotondo 鳥居言人 (1900–1976) Leaving t

Torii Kotondo 鳥居言人 (1900–1976)
Leaving the bathhouse (Yugaeri 湯がえ里)
Date: 1933
Signature: Kotondo ga
Artist’s seal: Kotondo
Edition: 7/100
Publisher: Ikeda Shoten

A young woman walks through a noren curtain hanging over the entrance to a bathhouse. The model of this print is the artist’s wife.

Text from ‘Waves of renewal: modern Japanese prints, 1900 to 1960 Selections from the Nihon no Hanga collection, Amsterdam’, Hotei Publishing (2016), p. 281, cat. 244.

#bijinga #bijin #womeninart #toriikotondo #japanesebath #shinhanga #新版画 #nihonnohanga #hanga #mokuhanga #japaneseart #japanart #japaneseartwork #privatecollection #privatemuseum #ukiyoe #museumfromhome #woodblockprint #japaneseprint #printmaking #reliefprinting #japaneseart #美人画 #日本の版画 #木版画

Hazama Inosuke 硲伊之助(1895–1977) Nude woma

Hazama Inosuke 硲伊之助(1895–1977)
Nude woman (Rafu 裸婦)
Series: A print collection of a European tour (Taiō hangashū 滞欧版画集)
Publisher: Self-published
Date: c. 1931
Artist’s seal: Hazama

Born in Tokyo, Hazama Inosuke received his first training in 1910 under Ōshita Tōjirō at his Japan Watercolour Institute (Nihon Suisaiga Kenkyūjo). He went to France from 1921 to 1929 and again from 1933 to 1935. During his second sojourn he studied with Henri Matisse (1869–1964) and after returning to Japan he displayed pieces made on his European trip with the Second Division Society. Hazama published the works for this series between his two trips to France. The example here conveys an intimate scene of a recumbent woman, a breakfast tray next to her. The subject is most likely Hazama’s French wife Adelia, who he married during his stay in Nice in 1928. The bold palette of blues, reds and yellows is reminiscent of the style of his teacher Henri Matisse.

Text (edited) from ‘Waves of renewal: modern Japanese prints, 1900 to 1960 Selections from the Nihon no Hanga collection, Amsterdam’, Hotei Publishing (2016), p. 247, cat. 200.

#bijinga #bijin #womeninart #sosakuhanga #創作版画 #hazamainosuke　#nihonnohanga #hanga #mokuhanga #japaneseart #japanart #japaneseartwork #privatecollection #privatemuseum #ukiyoe #museumfromhome #woodblockprint #japaneseprint #printmaking #reliefprinting #japaneseart #美人画 #日本の版画 #木版画

Hashiguchi Goyō 橋口五葉(1881–1921) Woman c

Hashiguchi Goyō 橋口五葉(1881–1921)
Woman combing her hair (Kami sukeru onna 髪梳ける女)
Date: March 1920
Signature: Goyō ga
Artist’s seal: Hashiguchi Goyō
Publisher: Self-published
Block-cutter: Koike Seizō
Printer: Somekawa Kanzō

‘Woman combing her hair’ is the most representative of the ten works Goyō produced in 1920. It has been suggested that the painting of Lady Lilith by Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828–1882) inspired this work (see images #3-4).* According to Goyō’s nephew, the yōga painter Hashiguchi Yasuo (1903–1973), the artist favoured this image over his other designs and even pasted it to the wall of his hospital room when he was admitted for a middle ear infection. He reportedly looked at the composition for inspiration, but sadly passed away before he was able to create further work. The model of his print was Kodaira Tomi, who frequently modelled for Goyō and of whom a number of drawings have survived. She also appears in Goyō’s ‘Woman in a long undergarment’ and ‘Woman after a bath. As an iconic image of 20th century Japanese printmaking, this design was chosen as the cover of our ‘Waves of renewal’ catalogue, published by Brill in 2016 (see image #5).

Dante Gabriel Rosetti (1828-1882)
Lady Lilith
Oil on canvas, 1866–1868, 1872–73
Delaware Art Museum

* Nishiyama, Junko, ‘Hashiguchi Goyō: sōshoku e no jōnetsu’, Tōkyō Bijutsu (2015), p. 41.
Text (edited) from ‘Waves of renewal: modern Japanese prints, 1900 to 1960 Selections from the Nihon no Hanga collection, Amsterdam’, Hotei Publishing (2016), p. 117, cat. 29.

#bijinga #bijin #womeninart #kimonopattern #kimono #shinhanga #新版画 #hashiguchigoyo #dantegabrielrossetti #preraphaelite #eastmeetswest #nihonnohanga #hanga #mokuhanga #japaneseart #japanart #japaneseartwork #privatecollection #privatemuseum #ukiyoe #museumfromhome #woodblockprint #japaneseprint #printmaking #reliefprinting #japaneseart #美人画 #日本の版画 #木版画

Onchi Kōshirō 恩地孝四郎 (1891-1955) Mirror

Onchi Kōshirō 恩地孝四郎 (1891-1955)
Mirror (Kagami 鏡)
Series: Eight figures of contemporary women (Kindai fujin hattai 今代婦人八態)
Date: 1929
Signature (blind-printed): Kō
Artist’s seal: jizuri (self-printed)
Edition: 10/20
Publisher: Sōsaku Hanga Kurabu (Nakajima Jūtarō)

Onchi entered this series of modern women in an exhibition held in Geneva in 1936. The Tokyo publisher Nakajima Jūtarō issued the set under his shop name Sōsaku Hanga Kurabu (Creative Print Club), which also released other important series such as One hundred views of new Tokyo. Eight figures was released in two versions: a self-printed edition of twenty impressions costing 8 yen each and a supervised edition of two hundred impressions costing 4 yen each. This print in the Nihon no hanga collection is from the self-printed edition and the first image to be issued in 1929. After a hiatus of some four years the second print, Coffee (Kōhii), was published in 1933. The third, After the bath (Yuagari) was released in spring 1934. The fourth and final composition, Newspaper (Shinbun), appeared in 1935. It remains unclear why the production of the series was interrupted. To date only four designs have been confirmed, even though the titles of the remaining four, presumably unpublished sheets, are known: Sports (Supōtsu), Cool breeze (Ryō), Bathing (Suiyoku) and Sekka (meaning unknown).

Text (edited) from ‘Waves of renewal: modern Japanese prints, 1900 to 1960 Selections from the Nihon no Hanga collection, Amsterdam’, Hotei Publishing (2016), p. 222, cat 163.

#bijinga #bijin #womeninart #beautyinart #kimonolove #sosakuhanga #創作版画 #onchikoshiro #恩地孝四郎 #handmirror #nihonnohanga #hanga #mokuhanga #japaneseart #japanart #japaneseartwork #privatecollection #privatemuseum #ukiyoe #museumfromhome #woodblockprint #japaneseprint #printmaking #reliefprinting #japaneseart #美人画 #日本の版画 #木版画

What do these four prints have in common? They are

What do these four prints have in common? They are all discussed in @popular_wheatprints most recent podcast The Unfinished Print, by host André Zadorozny and our curator Maureen de Vries. In this episode they share multiple ideas and concepts about modern Japanese prints. Such as how these prints were viewed in Japanese and Western society, through the lens of our own exhibitions. They talk about production of woodblock prints, and esoterically about what it means to produce prints from history: what is considered an “original” print, as well as how people from the past and today view Japanese prints from the 20th century.

The primary goal of The Unfinished Print has been to share the lives and works of mokuhanga creatives, for those who want to understand how contemporary Japanese woodblock prints are made. If you have an interest in modern day Japanese-style printmaking, André’s podcast is a great resource.

Check out the episode via @popular_wheatprints or https://theunfinishedprint.libsyn.com/

Onchi Kōshirō 恩地孝四郎 (1891-1955)
Portrait of Hagiwara Sakutarō (Author of The Iceland) (Hyōtō no chosha [Hagiwara Sakutarō zō]「氷島」の著者[萩原朔太郎像])
Date: 1943 (1949, second edition)
Signature: Onzi
Artist’s seal: R
Publisher: Self-published
Printer: Sekino Junichirō

Emil Orlik (1870-1932)
Ein Regentag (A Rainy Day)
From the portfolio Aus Japan (From Japan)
Date: 1904 (1996, reprint)
Signature: Orlik
Publisher: Koshiba & co

Wada Sanzō 和田三造 (1883-1967)
No. 15. Fishermen (１５　漁師)
Series: Japanese vocations of the Shōwa era in pictures - Volume 1 (昭和職業絵盡　第一輯)
Date: 1939-1940
Signature: Wada Sanzō
Artist’s seal: Wada Sanzō
Publisher: Nishinomiya Shoin (Shinagawa Kiyoomi)

Yamamoto Kanae 山本鼎 (1882-1946)
Woman of Brittany (Burutonnu ブルトンヌ)
Date: 1920
Signature: Kanae
Publisher: Self-published

#nihonnohanga #artpodcast #theunfinishedprint #wadasanzo #和田三造 #onchikoshiro #恩地孝四郎 #emilorlik #yamamotokanae #山本鼎 #hanga #mokuhanga #japaneseart #japanart #japaneseartwork #woodblockprint #japaneseprint #printmaking #japaneseart #日本の版画 #木版画

For those of you who have visited our museum this

For those of you who have visited our museum this past month, we would like to thank you for taking the time to come to us. We hope to welcome you again in November with a new exhibition.

However, if you have missed our latest exhibition Memories of Shōwa: Impressions of Working Life by Wada Sanzō, this upcoming weekend of 2, 3 and 4 July is your last chance to see it!

Tickets will be limited and are sold online through our website and Eventbrite page. #linkinbio

If you are having difficulty ordering your tickets online, please send us an email to make your reservation: info@nihon-no-hanga.nl

#nihonnohanga #amsterdamart #visitamsterdam #japaneseposter #exhibitionposter #artposter #newexhibition #memoriesofshowa #wadasanzo #和田三造 #japanesestyle #japaneseartist #showa #昭和 #retrojapan #nostalgicjapan #hanga #mokuhanga #japaneseart #japanart #japaneseartwork #woodblockprint #japaneseprint #printmaking #japaneseart #日本の版画 #木版画

There are still tickets available for this weekend

There are still tickets available for this weekend! Get your tickets now for this Saturday (26 June) and Sunday (27 June)! #linkinbio

This weekend will also mark a big step in relaxing measures in the Netherlands. While we were used to wearing face masks in the museum (like the ‘salarymen’ in the featured print), the requirement will be dropped this Saturday 26 June. Visitors are no longer required to wear a face mask in the museum, if you can keep 1.5 metres distance from other groups.

Wada Sanzō　和田三造　(1883-1967)
No. 22. The salaryman
Series: Japanese vocations of the Shōwa era in pictures -Volume 1 (Shōwa shokugyō ezukushi dai isshū 昭和職業繪盡　第一輯)
Signature: Wada Sanzō (signed by hand)
Artistʼs seal: Wada Sanzō
Date: 1939-1941
Publisher: Nishinomiya Shoin (Shinagawa Kiyoomi)
Block-cutters: Hino Keikichi, Komeda Shintarō and Fujikawa Manjirō
Printer: Mitsumoto Kaichi (head printer)

“Over time the term ʻsalarymanʼ has gained a clear meaning.
Besides a salaried employee, this pronoun has come to refer to middle-aged men wearing Western clothing and as described below, also middle-aged career women.
They are the kind of men who, when they have to spend a certain amount of time on the bus or train each morning, take care that their hair and shoes are bright and shining, who spend all their energy on the selection of neckties and movies, and who consider Western music as nutritious.
For women, too, the urban atmosphere has the power to create a natural new type, which regardless of whether they wear Western or Japanese clothing makes a fresh and light-hearted impression on the men around them.” *

*Original translation from ‘Memories of Shōwa: Impressions of Working Life by Wada Sanzō’, Nihon no hanga (2021), p. 37, cat. 22.

#nihonnohanga #salaryman #workingwomen #newexhibition #memoriesofshowa #wadasanzo #和田三造 #japanesestyle #japaneseartist #showa #昭和 #retrojapan #nostalgicjapan #hanga #mokuhanga #japaneseart #japanart #japaneseartwork #privatecollection #privatemuseum #ukiyoe #woodblockprint #japaneseprint #printmaking #reliefprinting #japaneseart #日本の版画 #木版画

This keyblock impression may have been for an alte

This keyblock impression may have been for an alternative design for Toraji’s series titled ‘Ten types of female nudes’ (Rajo jisshu 裸女十種), published in 1934. Considering Toraji’s method of creating prints, where he made several sketches, followed by watercolours and subsequently hand-coloured keyblock impressions to decide on a final design, this keyblock printing gives the impression that this design was already well developed before it was cut from the series. While the reason for its removal is unclear, it is interesting to note that all the other prints in the ‘Ten types of female nudes’ series present beauties in indoor settings.

Ishikawa Toraji 石川寅治 (1875-1964)
At the beach (keblock impression for an unfinished print)
Date: c. 1934

#bijinga #bijin #womeninart #beautyatthebeach #shinhanga #新版画 #ishikawatoraji #nihonnohanga #hanga #mokuhanga #japaneseart #japaneseartwork #privatecollection #privatemuseum #ukiyoe #museumfromhome #woodblockprint #japaneseprint #printmaking #reliefprinting #japaneseart #美人画 #日本の版画 #木版画 #keyblock

Ishikawa Toraji 石川寅治 (1875-1964) At the ba

Ishikawa Toraji 石川寅治 (1875-1964)
At the bath (Yokushitsu nite 浴室にて)
Series: Ten types of female nudes (Rajo jisshu 裸女十種)
Date: 1934
Signature: Ishikawa
Artist’s seal: Tora
Publisher: Ryokūsō Gashitsu (Ishikawa Toraji)
Block-cutter: Yamagishi Kazue
Printer: Urushibara Eijirō

#bijinga #bijin #womeninart #bathingbeauty #shinhanga #新版画 #ishikawatoraji #nihonnohanga #hanga #mokuhanga #japaneseart #japaneseartwork #privatecollection #privatemuseum #ukiyoe #museumfromhome #woodblockprint #japaneseprint #printmaking #reliefprinting #japaneseart #美人画 #日本の版画 #木版画

It could be said that Toraji’s series of nudes r

It could be said that Toraji’s series of nudes reinforced the stigma surrounding the moga (modern girl): the notion that they were women of loose morals persisted in the public’s eye and was often written about in sensational terms by contemporary critics. The prints in this series are often a topic of discussion, partially because of the openly erotic overtones. In 1935 the Tokyo police confiscated the blocks of a print from the series. According to the block cutter Yamagishi Kazue, who worked on the series, two woodblocks were destroyed. Though it is not known which design was targeted by police, it is likely to have been this design, 'Relaxing', since no later reprints of this print are known. The other nine designs from the series have been reprinted extensively.

1-2. Ishikawa Toraji 石川寅治 (1875-1964)
Relaxing (Ikoi 憩ひ)
Series: Ten types of female nudes (Rajo jisshu 裸女十種)
Date: 1934
Signature: Ishikawa
Artist’s seal: Tora
Publisher: Ryokūsō Gashitsu (Ishikawa Toraji)
Block-cutter: Yamagishi Kazue
Printer: Urushibara Eijirō

3. Ishikawa Toraji 石川寅治 (1875-1964)
Study for Relaxing
Date: c. 1934
Artist’s seal: Tora

Text based on ‘Moga: contemporary beauties in modern Japanese prints’ by Maureen de Vries in the upcoming publication ‘Tokyo: Art and Photography’, Ashmolean Museum (June 2021)

#bijinga #bijin #womeninart #shinhanga #新版画 #ishikawatoraji #nihonnohanga #hanga #mokuhanga #japaneseart #japaneseartwork #privatecollection #privatemuseum #ukiyoe #museumfromhome #woodblockprint #japaneseprint #printmaking #reliefprinting #japaneseart #美人画 #日本の版画 #木版画

Calico cats are almost always female cats, they ha

Calico cats are almost always female cats, they have been household favourites in Japan for centuries. In Japan this cat breed is called mikeneko, literally: three-haired cat. The Japanese view mikeneko as bringers of good fortune, which explains its ubiquitous image. In Japanese folk art (mingei) in particular, this type of cat plays an important role. It is often considered to be a talisman (engimono) and is usually presented as the maneki neko, which literally translates as ‘inviting cat’, but in English more commonly known as ‘lucky cat’.

Note how Toraji made a preliminary watercolour of a bobtail calico (4), while he incorporated a long-tailed cat in the final design (1). Bobtails are often seen in Japanese art. While there are many stories as to why Japanese cats often have short tails, such as the belief that if the cat’s tail is not cut off in kittenhood, they would transform into obake (monsters). In fact, the Japanese bobtail is the descendant of the imported Asian cat. Studies have shown that the current breed of Japanese bobtail cats carry a recessive gene that causes their short tail.

1-3. Ishikawa Toraji 石川寅治 (1875-1964)
Bored (Tsurezure つれづれ))
Series: Ten types of female nudes (Rajo jisshu 裸女十種)
Date: 1934
Signature: Ishikawa
Artist’s seal: Tora
Publisher: Ryokūsō Gashitsu (Ishikawa Toraji)
Block-cutter: Yamagishi Kazue
Printer: Urushibara Eijirō

4. Ishikawa Toraji 石川寅治 (1875-1964)
Study of a calico cat
Date: c. 1934
Artist’s seal: Tora

Text from ‘Neko. The Cat in Japanese Art’, Maureen de Vries, Japan Museum SieboldHuis (2020), p.13; p.19.

#bijinga #bijin #mikeneko #三毛猫 #calicocat #womeninart #shinhanga #新版画 #ishikawatoraji #nihonnohanga #hanga #mokuhanga #japaneseart #japaneseartwork #privatecollection #privatemuseum #ukiyoe #museumfromhome #woodblockprint #japaneseprint #printmaking #reliefprinting #japaneseart #美人画 #日本の版画 #木版画

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