BANNAI Kokan was a nihonga painter and a shin-hanga artist who was active during the Showa period. He pursued the path of painting as a self-taught artist and, from around 1942, began publishing his works through Watanabe.
His most celebrated body of work is the series The Fifty-three Stations of the Modern Tokaido. In this series, he reimagined Hiroshige’s famous compositions by transplanting them into the landscapes of the Showa era. While employing traditional woodblock printing techniques, Bannai skillfully incorporated the modern cityscapes, vehicles, and fashions of his time.
In his depiction of Nihonbashi in snowfall, streetcars run through the softly falling snow as Western-style buildings line the streets, creating a beautifully balanced scene in which the nostalgic spirit of old Japan merges with modernization. Bannai’s works are held in major collections, including the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, and he is recognized as one of the artists who, alongside figures such as Hasui, helped shape the shin-hanga movement.
His most celebrated body of work is the series The Fifty-three Stations of the Modern Tokaido. In this series, he reimagined Hiroshige’s famous compositions by transplanting them into the landscapes of the Showa era. While employing traditional woodblock printing techniques, Bannai skillfully incorporated the modern cityscapes, vehicles, and fashions of his time.
In his depiction of Nihonbashi in snowfall, streetcars run through the softly falling snow as Western-style buildings line the streets, creating a beautifully balanced scene in which the nostalgic spirit of old Japan merges with modernization. Bannai’s works are held in major collections, including the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, and he is recognized as one of the artists who, alongside figures such as Hasui, helped shape the shin-hanga movement.
