100 Years of Yoshida Hiroshi Woodblock Prints

Yoshida Hiroshi (1876-1950) is known as a leading artist in the Western art world in the fields of watercolors, oil paintings, and woodblock prints from the Meiji to Showa periods. After publishing a woodblock print based on his own sketches at the age of 44, he released his first woodblock print under his own supervision at the age of 49, aiming to create a new style of woodblock print that combined Western realistic expression with traditional Japanese woodblock print techniques.
This year marks 100 years since Hiroshi's overseas trip in 1923, which prompted him to begin producing woodblock prints in earnest. During this trip, he realized the need for new woodblock prints that utilized Japanese traditions, and after returning to Japan, he produced the first woodblock print series he supervised, "American and European Section," and in the latter half of his life, he devoted his passion to producing woodblock prints alongside his oil paintings.
This exhibition will feature approximately 70 woodblock prints by Yoshida Hiroshi, whose works are still beloved both in Japan and abroad even after 100 years.

Highlight

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Exhibiting representative woodblock prints by Hiroshi, who traveled the world He traveled abroad at a young age, visiting Europe and the United States three times for a total of over seven years, during which he produced his first private woodblock prints, the "American Series," and the "Europe Series." In 1930, he went on a sketching trip to India and Southeast Asia with his eldest son, Toshi, and in 1937, he published woodblock prints of Korea and Manchuria. Many of the beautiful overseas landscapes that Hiroshi captured during his travels around the world are expressed in woodblock prints.
Also on display will be representative works such as "Twelve Themes of the Japanese Alps," which is themed around the Japanese Alps that Hiroshi, who is also a mountaineer, climbed every summer, and "Seto Inland Sea Collection: Sailboats," which captures the ever-changing sea. High-definition video footage of Hiroshi's works will also be projected, allowing visitors to enjoy his exquisitely rendered prints.

"US Series Grand Canyon"　　
Hiroshi Yoshida 1925 (Taisho 14)

"US Series Mount Rainier"　　
Hiroshi Yoshida 1925 (Taisho 14)

"US Series El Capitan"　　
Hiroshi Yoshida 1925 (Taisho 14)

"Europe Series: Venice Canals"　　
Hiroshi Yoshida 1926 (Taisho 15)

"European Series Sphinx"　　
Hiroshi Yoshida 1925 (Taisho 14)

"European Series Sphinx Night"　　
Hiroshi Yoshida 1925 (Taisho 14)

"Twelve Themes of the Japanese Alps: Morning at Mt. Tsurugi"　
Hiroshi Yoshida 1926 (Taisho 15)

"Twelve Themes of the Japanese Alps: Camping on Mt. Washu"　
Hiroshi Yoshida 1926 (Taisho 15)

"India and Southeast Asia: Morning Mist at the Taj Mahal, Part 5"　　
Hiroshi Yoshida 1932 (Showa 7)

"India and Southeast Asia Victoria Memorial"　　
Hiroshi Yoshida 1931 (Showa 6)

"Seto Inland Sea Collection: Sailing Ships (From left: Morning, Fog, Night)" 　
Hiroshi Yoshida 1926 (Taisho 15)

Superb craftsmanship: Hiroshi's unique woodblock printing techniques Hiroshi has applied the advanced techniques of ukiyo-e to modern times, while using Western painting techniques that combine the touch of oil painting and the color expression of watercolors to create a new and unexplored style of woodblock print.
One of the most notable features of this piece is the unprecedented number of times it is printed, with an average of 30 times and sometimes as many as 100 times, resulting in rich colors and expressing the texture, three-dimensionality, and atmosphere of nature that Hiroshi experienced firsthand.
This exhibition will feature the 96-degree print of "Yomeimon Gate" and the 88-degree print of "Twelve Subjects from Tokyo: Kameido."

"Yomeimon"　
Hiroshi Yoshida 1937 (Showa 12)

"Twelve Themes from Tokyo: Kameido"　
Hiroshi Yoshida 1927 (Showa 2)

Extra-large woodblock prints, nearly twice the size of normal ones, require the paper to absorb moisture during printing, which causes the paper to expand and contract more, making it more likely to slip, but "Ten Views of Mt. Fuji: Asahi" (53.3 x 71.2) and "Sea of ​​Clouds: Mount Houou" (54.5 x 82.7) are impressive masterpieces that overcome this issue. "Asahi" will also feature an exhibition of the woodblocks.

"Ten Views of Mount Fuji: Morning Sun"　
Hiroshi Yoshida 1926 (Taisho 15)

"Sea of ​​clouds, Mt. Phoenix"　
Hiroshi Yoshida 1928 (Showa 3)

While employing skilled craftsmen for his autoclaving and autoprinting, he always provides strict instruction and supervision, and stamps the completed works with the "autoprint" mark. In order to instruct his craftsmen, he himself felt the need to acquire skills beyond those of the craftsmen, and some of his works, such as "Twelve Subjects from Tokyo: Snow from Nakazato," "India and Southeast Asia: Huatepur Sikri," and "Sailing Ship: Morning," were carved by him himself.

"Twelve Themes from Tokyo: Snow in Nakazato"　
Yoshida Hiroshi 1928 (Showa 3) Private collection

(c)2023 YOSHIDA HIROSHI TRUST

"India and Southeast Asia: Huwatepur Sikri"　
Yoshida Hiroshi 1931 (Showa 6) Private collection
(c)2023 YOSHIDA HIROSHI TRUST

About Hiroshi Yoshida

Yoshida Hiroshi (1876–1950) was born in Kurume City as the second son of Ueda Tsukasa, a samurai of the Kurume domain. At the age of 18, he moved to Tokyo and enrolled at the Fudosha art school run by Koyama Shotaro (1857–1916), where he began his full-time painting career. In 1899, at the age of 23, he embarked on a lifelong journey to the United States with his junior colleague Nakagawa Hachiro, armed with his watercolors and only one month's living expenses. He secured funds through the success of exhibitions and sales at the Detroit Institute of Arts and other venues, and toured Europe before returning to Japan two years later. Two and a half years later, he returned to the United States again with his sister-in-law, Fujio, who would later become his wife. They spent over three years in the United States and Europe. These trips exposed him to Western art, both ancient and modern, and greatly honed his artistic skills. He became a central figure in the Taiheiyo Gakai, Japan's first Western-style painting organization. In 1920, at the age of 44, he met publisher Watanabe Shozaburo and published his first woodblock print, "The Gardens of Meiji Shrine." Initially, he only produced rough sketches for prints, but after the Great Kanto Earthquake, he traveled to the United States to sell the works of members of the Pacific Art Association who had been affected by the disaster. He discovered that Japanese prints were extremely popular in the United States, and realized the need to create new woodblock prints that combined the Western realistic expression he had mastered with Japanese tradition. After returning to Japan in 1925, at the age of 49, he published his first woodblock print that he had personally supervised, and for the rest of his life, he devoted himself passionately to creating woodblock prints alongside his oil paintings.

Other exhibits

"European Series: Mount Jungfrau"　
Hiroshi Yoshida 1925 (Taisho 14)

"Europe Series: Lugano Town"　
Hiroshi Yoshida 1925 (Taisho 14)

"Twelve Themes of the Japanese Alps: Mt. Hotaka"　
Hiroshi Yoshida 1926 (Taisho 15)