Yoshijiro Urushibara (Mokuchu) 1889-1953. was a Japanese woodblock print maker best known for his landscapes and flower studies, as well as a series of black and white prints of horses. Growing up in Tokyo, he studied the art of carving and printing woodblocks from an early age. In 1907 Urushibara travelled to London to demonstrate Japanese printmaking at the Anglo-Japanese Exhibition. He remained in London after the exhibition, restoring prints, making reproductions of prints, and mounting scrolls at the British Museum.
The atmospheric landscapes of the British Isles provided a fresh source of inspiration for Mokuchu who avidly depicted the misty streets of London. With first-hand knowledge of two different cultures, Mokuchu was able to fuse distant artistic practices and find common ground between Japan and the west, employing Japanese techniques to portray new subjects. The artist became an access point to the traditional methods of Japanese arts for the growing interest of English artists. This keen interest to learn authentic woodblock printing, amongst other crafts by English art students and enthusiasts, allowed Japanese artists to experiment and preserve their traditional styles in a time when they were going out of fashion in their homeland in favour for more novel and Western artistic disciplines.
Mokuchu’s techniques are mentioned in Walter J. Phillips’s book on printmaking (who is thought to have received teachings from Urushibara). In addition to his own work, Urushibara is also known for his collaborations with other artists. His most famous collaborations were with the English artist Frank Brangwyn.
The start of World War II caused his return to Japan, but he kept in contact with his friends from Europe. It would be no overstatement to say he was an indispensable part of the European colour print movement, and that he had a profound influence on European colour printmakers.
This is part 1 of a 2-part series on the works of
Yoshijiro Urushibara:
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| c1913 Sweet Peas woodcut print 30 x 20 cm |
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| c1915 Poppies woodcut print 35.2 x 24.2 cm |
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| c1915-22 Chrysanthemums woodcut print 38.1 x 26.3 cm |
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| 1919 Place Van Eyck, Bruges woodcut print |
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| 1919 Le Quai Vert (The Green Quay) woodcut print |
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| 1919 Quai St. Ann, Bruges woodcut print 68 x 76.8 cm |
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| 1919 Quai Poterie, Briges woodcut print |
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| 1919 Quai du Miroir woodcut print |
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| 1919 The Beguinage, Bruges 1 woodcut print |
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| 1919 The Beguinage, Bruges 2 woodcut print |
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| 1919 The Barge woodcut print |
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| 1919 View on the Canal de Damme, Bruges |
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| 1919 View of Damme, Bruges |
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| 1919 The old fish market, Bruges |
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| 1919 Canal scene, with windmills, Bruges |
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| 1919 Bridge by the Quai Poterie, Bruges |
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| 1919 Barge on the Canal de Damme, Bruges |
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| 1919 Young girl at the piano (after J.McBey) woodcut print 27.2 x 39.3 cm |
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| c1920 Carnations woodcut print 30.5 x 20 cm |
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| c1920 Carnations woodcut print 30.4 x 20.3 cm |
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| c1920 Camellias woodcut print 34.6 x 23.7 cm |
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| c1920 Butterfly woodcut print 29.2 x 31.4 cm |
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| c1920 Dawn woodcut print 24.8 x 35.8 cm |
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| c1920 Dandelions woodcut print 41.4 x 27.5 cm |
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| c1920 Cyclamen woodcut print 34.8 x 23.5 cm |
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| c1920 Cyclamen woodcut print 34.7 x 20.3 cm |
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| c1920 Crayfish woodcut print 24.1 x 31.1 cm |
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| c1920 Chrysanthemum woodcut print 48.2 x 25 cm |
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| c1920 Chrysanthemum woodcut print 39.8 x 28.6 cm |
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| c1920s Peonies woodcut print 26.9 x 20 cm |
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| c1920 Tulips woodcut print 40.6 x 28.8 cm |
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| c1920 Iris & Coreopsis woodcut print 46 x 31.5 cm |
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| c1920s-40s Lake woodcut print 28.5 x 36.2 cm |
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| 1920s Ponte S. Paternina, Venice woodcut print 27.3 x 19 cm |
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| 1920s Herbaceous Peony woodcut print 40 x 34.2 cm |
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| 1920s Grasshopper and Butterfly woodcut print 27.9 x 33 cm |
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| c1920s The Mill (Dixmuden) woodcut print 26.7 x 21.4 cm |
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| c1921 Tulips in a Vase woodcut print 38.8 x 29.4 cm |
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| c1921 Grand Canal, Venice (with clouds) woodcut print 34.7 x24.3 cm |
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| 1921 Garden of the Mosque of Solomon, Constantinople woodcut print size not given |
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| 1921 AS Levetus Ex Libris woodcut print |
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| c1922 Venice woodcut print 22.6 x 30.4 cm |
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| c1923 Camblain L'Abbe woodcut print 22.3 x 29.7 cm |
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| c1923-28 Bournemouth, Moonlight woodcut print 40 x 28 cm |
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| c1923-28 Bournemouth, Moonlight woodcut print 40 x 28 cm |
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