ONCHI Koshiro stands as the most innovative and influential figure in the history of Japanese printmaking, widely regarded as the “father of the sōsaku hanga (creative print) movement.” He elevated printmaking from a means of reproducing external subjects into a form of pure self-expression, capable of visualizing the artist’s inner emotions and even musical sensations.
Onchi’s greatest achievement was his role as a pioneer of abstraction in Japan. Works such as the Lyricism (Jojo) series of 1915, composed of colors and lines free from fixed forms, gave visual form to the tremors of the human spirit and to musical rhythms, sending shockwaves through the art world of the time. He made bold use of the materiality of the printing block itself, employing a “multi-block” approach that incorporated not only wood, but also string, fabric, and even plant materials such as leaves. For Onchi, printmaking was not a technique for reproducing a predetermined image, but an “art of improvisation” that came into being in the very act of printing.
At the same time, Onchi was also a master of figurative expression. In his portraits in particular, he conveyed the inner solitude and intellect of his subjects through sharp lines and carefully calculated areas of negative space. He was equally distinguished in the field of book design, producing outstanding work for poets such as Kitahara Hakushu and Hagiwara Sakutaro, whose writings he adorned with a modern sensibility deeply attuned to their spirit. For Onchi, painting, poetry, and music were all interconnected as expressions of a single lyrical impulse.
After the war, he founded and led the Ichimoku-kai, a group that drew many aspiring printmakers to him, including the young Umetaro Azechi and Jun’ichiro Sekino. The freedom of expression that Onchi pioneered became the foundation for the international recognition of Japanese printmaking, and his spirit continues to resonate in modern abstraction and contemporary art. By exploding the traditional framework of woodblock printing from within, ONCHI Koshiro was a true revolutionary who set Japanese art adrift on the vast seas of modern art.
Onchi’s greatest achievement was his role as a pioneer of abstraction in Japan. Works such as the Lyricism (Jojo) series of 1915, composed of colors and lines free from fixed forms, gave visual form to the tremors of the human spirit and to musical rhythms, sending shockwaves through the art world of the time. He made bold use of the materiality of the printing block itself, employing a “multi-block” approach that incorporated not only wood, but also string, fabric, and even plant materials such as leaves. For Onchi, printmaking was not a technique for reproducing a predetermined image, but an “art of improvisation” that came into being in the very act of printing.
At the same time, Onchi was also a master of figurative expression. In his portraits in particular, he conveyed the inner solitude and intellect of his subjects through sharp lines and carefully calculated areas of negative space. He was equally distinguished in the field of book design, producing outstanding work for poets such as Kitahara Hakushu and Hagiwara Sakutaro, whose writings he adorned with a modern sensibility deeply attuned to their spirit. For Onchi, painting, poetry, and music were all interconnected as expressions of a single lyrical impulse.
After the war, he founded and led the Ichimoku-kai, a group that drew many aspiring printmakers to him, including the young Umetaro Azechi and Jun’ichiro Sekino. The freedom of expression that Onchi pioneered became the foundation for the international recognition of Japanese printmaking, and his spirit continues to resonate in modern abstraction and contemporary art. By exploding the traditional framework of woodblock printing from within, ONCHI Koshiro was a true revolutionary who set Japanese art adrift on the vast seas of modern art.
