Shin Hanga

The Shin Hanga (new print) movement of the early 20th century combined traditional Ukiyo-e themes with Western concepts like Impressionism and Art Deco. For me its part of the internationalization of art in the early 1900s, as Westerners and Asians discovered each others' artistic traditions and sought to create modernized versions. Works like Michel Fokine's "The Blue God" and the poetry of Tagore revitalized artistic expressions combining themes from other cultures with that of their own.

Night rain on Shinohashi bridge

In Japan the printmaker Watanabe Shozaburo championed the Shin Hanga process which involves the collaboration of painter, carver, printer and publisher to create a unique end product. The atmospheric print above is by Kawase Hasui, whose work reflects a Taisho era Japan modernizing yet still very connected to its past.

Snow at Zozoji temple, Shiba

This print by Hasui, perhaps his most famous work, was commissioned by the Japanese government and named an Intangible Cultural Treasure.

Shalimar Gardens, Lucknow

Another of the Shin Hanga artists Hiroshi Yoshida, updated ukiyo-e travelogues by painting scenes from around the world. Yoshida and later his son Toshi, used the Shin Hanga process to show landscapes and people far from daily life much the way that Hiroshige painted scenes of the Tokaido and Edo for people in Tokugawa Japan.

El Capitan, Yosemite Valley

Shin Hanga also included some Westerners like the Englishman CW Bartlett, whose watercolors were translated into wood block prints by Shozaburo in Japan. Bartlett spent the latter part of his life in Hawaii and helped to found the Honolulu Printmakers group.

Taj Mahal, Agra

The best place I've found for viewing Shin Hanga is the virtual gallery hanga.com, that not only sells the works but also has a tremendous reference gallery of pictures.