Honolulu Museum of Art (HOMA) Exhibit of Onchi Koshiro's Sōsaku Hanga Prints

Most explorations of Japanese printmaking focus on traditional ukiyo-e, a collaborative art form involving designers, carvers, printers, and publishers. Following Japan's Westernization in the early 1900s, Sōsaku Hanga or "creative prints" artists began handling design, carving, inking, and printing themselves, resulting in more personal and experimental work.

Onchi Kōshirō, the driving force behind Sōsaku Hanga,  is currently featured in the Honolulu Museum of Art's exhibition "Lyrically Rebellious: The Prints of Onchi Kōshirō," running through April 12, 2026. Curated by Stephen Salel, the exhibition offers a comprehensive look at one of Japan's first abstract artists.

Born in Tokyo to an upper-class family, Onchi studied Western-style oil painting and sculpture before discovering printmaking in 1914. Beyond being an artist and poet, he was a passionate educator and a pioneer of abstract art in Japan.

Stephen Salel organized the exhibition into five thematic genres: Figure Studies, Portraiture, Landscapes, Still Lifes, and Non-objective subjects. In the first four sections, works become progressively more abstract; the fifth features entirely abstract compositions. 

 

Contemporary Voices Exhibit

Before the main exhibition, visitors encounter "Enduring Impressions," featuring six contemporary international woodblock artists. Yoonmi Nam depicts chrysanthemums in disposable meal containers, creating symbolism around mortality and disposable culture. Kyoto artist Takenaka Kenji presents vivid seasonal flowers, while Hawaiian artist Hiroki Morinoue's "100 Views of Water" series conveys environmental themes. New York artist April Vollmer incorporates natural patterns, particularly flying birds.

Lyrically Rebellious Exhibit

Onchi’s Figure Studies: From Realism to Abstraction

Onchi's early figure studies are academically accurate, but his works gradually explored more subjective approaches. "Mother and Child" portrays his wife Nobu after their daughter's birth, while "Ice Skating" (1926) conveys movement with minimal elements. 

"After the Bath" and "Obi" echo traditional ukiyo-e aesthetics, showing how Onchi maintained connections to Japanese art while pushing toward modernism.

Portraiture: Lives and Emotions

The Portraiture section includes pencil sketches and woodblock prints. "Mirror" (1929) evokes bijin-ga prints from the ukiyo-e tradition. His most famous portrait depicts poet "Hagiwara Sakutarō" (1943), where expressionistic line work and light convey emotion and tell the story of his life through the lines on his face.

Landscapes: Representation to Poetry

"Tokyo Station" (1945) demonstrates representational skill, while "Niju Bridge" and "Ueno Zoo in Early Autumn" present more abstract interpretations. 

Among his landscapes are many more abstract prints that link closely with his poetry. From left to right, visitors encounter "Poem Number Two of the Mountain", "Poem of the Sea", and "Poem of the Field", all from 1937. These works require extended contemplation to fully appreciate the elements of composition, color choices, and the various techniques Onchi employed, such as using string, paper cutouts, and even pieces of wood, to achieve these evocative prints.

 

Still Lifes and Abstractions

The still life section features several compelling works. The standout print is the strong, vibrant "Potted Flower" from 1943, with its bold yellow, red, and black composition. A print called "Flower" from 1940 displays a subtle and dreamlike execution similar to what appears in his "Ueno Zoo" and "Niju Bridge" prints, demonstrating Onchi's consistent artistic sensibility across different subjects.

 

The abstract print "Motherhood" from 1950 revisits and reimagines the theme first explored in his 1917 work "Mother and Child", demonstrating how Onchi's artistic vision evolved over more than three decades while maintaining thematic continuity.

Three prints titled "Black Cat B, C, and D" possess a particularly intriguing quality. They resemble typographical symbols, yet remain cat-like in their composition, exemplifying Onchi's ability to balance abstraction with recognizable forms.

Legacy

Onchi's work demonstrates the elastic, expressive nature of the woodblock medium. Through intimate portraits, lyrical abstractions, and personal themes, he expanded printmaking's possibilities.

In 1946, Onchi reflected:

 "As you see, my prints are varied—the ones like normal paintings are when walking with people, and those that tend to be abstract help sharpen desires for beauty."

For those visiting Honolulu before April 2026, experiencing these prints in person brings new appreciation for Onchi's vision and the revolutionary movement he pioneered.