Collection: Sōsaku-hanga

The term Sōsaku-hanga (創作版画 “creative prints”) describes the movement that emerged in 1904 and advocates the artist as the sole author of the work: the design, engraving, and printing are carried out exclusively by the artist.
More generally, the word mokuhanga (木版画 “woodblock print”) refers to the Japanese woodblock printing technique using water-based inks, employed from Ukiyo-e to Shin-hanga, and through to contemporary production. Mokuhanga thus designates the medium, while Sōsaku-hanga embodies the idea of authorship that makes use of that medium: in this sense, every woodblock sōsaku-hanga is also mokuhanga, but not the other way around because, for example, the artist, carver, and printer were distinct figures in the Ukiyo-e and Shin-hanga movements.