The Worcester (Massachusetts) Art Museum has a fine collection of Japanese art, and on April 21, 2025, Fiona Collins-Rosedahl, Assistant Curator of Asian Art, discussed the museum’s print exhibition Pictures of a Changing Japan: The Evolution of Shin Hanga (on view until June 29).
Shin hanga, or “new prints,” emerged during a period of dramatic sociopolitical change in Japan as a nostalgic revival of collaborative, ukiyo-e-style woodblock printmaking. While capturing scenes of Japan’s vanishing traditional life, these artists incorporated Western-inspired techniques to create some of the most iconic Japanese prints of the 20th century.
Featuring works by masters including Kawase Hasui, Yoshida Hiroshi, Ito Shinsui, and Hashiguchi Goyo, the exhibition traces the evolution of shin hanga from its origins with publisher Watanabe Shozaburo in the 1910s, examining how Japan’s changing cultural landscape and the international reception of Japanese art shaped its development. Collins-Rosedahl explored the Worcester Art Museum’s key role in promoting shin hanga through exhibitions and programming that helped establish the genre internationally.