The Last and the New Masters of Ukiyo-e

The Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum in Tokyo presents an exhibition tracing the evolution of Japanese landscape woodblock prints from the late 19th century to the mid-20th century. The journey begins with the work of Kobayashi Kiyochika, considered one of the last Masters of ukiyo-e, who in 1876 launched the series Famous Places of Tokyo. His prints, known for their dramatic use of light and shadow, were described as "light paintings" and marked a profound renewal in the depiction of the urban landscape. Unlike the optimistic vision of other contemporary artists, Kiyochika embraced a twilight sensibility that reflected a sense of loss over the disappearance of Edo customs, coupled with a near-photographic approach to documenting change. This aesthetic and emotional legacy was taken up at the end of the Meiji era by the Shin-hanga movement, which sought to renew the ukiyo-e tradition by preserving its techniques while opening up to new visual influences. Artists such as Yoshida Hiroshi and Kawase Hasui reinterpreted the Japanese landscape through a lens of nostalgia and modernity, blending Western elements with a revival of the original sensitivity of woodblock printing. The works on display come from the Robert O. Muller Collection, one of the most significant private collections of Japanese prints, now housed at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art in Washington, D.C. Through this selection, visitors can trace the evolution of Japan’s visual identity from the premodern era to the modern age, moving between poetic invention and documentary gaze.