A movement beginning in Japan in 1918 and continuing well into the late 1960s. Called Sōsaku Hanga, which translates as ‘creative prints’. The movement was informed by the desire to break away from the past style of printmaking, especially the ukiyo-e woodblock print that was traditionally produced by multiple specialised craftsmen, including painters (who created the original designs), carvers (who produced the woodblocks), and printers (who made final prints). Influenced by German Expressionism and Art Nouveau, the movement embraced the modernist conception of printmakers as individual artists who would undertake all the steps of printmaking by themselves. Stylistically, the artists exposed the marks left by carving and made use of layering of colour to create formally innovative and expressive works. In the postwar period, these prints became popular abroad and led to increased interest in Japanese printmaking.
