Shin hanga: The New Prints of Japan 1900–1960

Twentieth-century Japanese printmaking—especially the refined art of shin hanga (new prints)—has long remained underappreciated. This expanded and revised edition of Shin Hanga. New Prints of Japan (1900–1960) sets out to change that.

Twentieth-century Japanese printmaking—especially the refined art of shin hanga (new prints)—has long remained underappreciated. This expanded and revised edition of Shin Hanga. New Prints of Japan (1900–1960) sets out to change that.

Building on the success of the original 2022 publication, this richly illustrated volume offers an even deeper exploration of the shin hanga movement, with an expanded section on its most celebrated artist, Kawase Hasui. New entries, additional prints, and enhanced scholarship highlight Hasui’s poetic vision and his central role in shaping the aesthetics of modern Japanese woodblock prints.

Shin hanga works are the result of a unique collaborative process between artist, publisher, block cutter, and printer—reviving traditional techniques to create modern expressions of beauty. Their subtle visual language, exquisite craftsmanship, and emotional resonance distinguish them from both their ukiyo-e predecessors and the emerging avant-garde.

This updated edition features an expanded selection of prints, drawn from two major private collections, the Royal Museums of Art and History in Brussels, and rare works from the Watanabe family archive—the publisher who launched the shin hanga movement and helped define its legacy.

About the Author

Author Chris Uhlenbeck has organized several major exhibitions on Japanese art, including ‘Shin Hanga: the new prints of Japan’ which was on view in the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Sieboldhuis Leiden and in the Museum for Ostasiatische Kunst in Cologne, in 2022.

Jim Dwinger is an expert in Japanese art history and a specialist in woodcuts, and Philo Ouweleen is a visual artist with an MA in Japanese studies.