Kamakura

This print was published in 1916 by Shōzaburō Watanabe, based on a design by Charles Bartlett, an English artist who was in Japan at the time as part of what was intended to be a trip around the world — though he never returned to England.

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During his time in Japan, Bartlett met Friedrich Capelari, who introduced him to Watanabe. At that point, Watanabe had just begun an ambitious project: to collaborate with innovative artists and create an entirely new genre of woodblock prints — what would later come to be known as Shin Hanga (“new prints”). Together, Watanabe and Bartlett produced 21 woodblock prints in 1916, including the one you see here.

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In 1917, Bartlett and his wife left Japan for England but stopped in Hawaii, where they ended up settling permanently. He returned to Japan once more in 1919, collaborating again with Watanabe to create an additional 16 Shin Hanga prints.

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This piece comes from the very early days of the Shin Hanga movement and already displays many of the traits the style would become known for — including gomazuri (speckled texture effects), baren zuji (baren rubbing patterns), and delicate multi color layering. When comparing this early work to later pieces from the movement, you can clearly trace the development and evolution of the style.

We felt it was important to highlight Bartlett — a somewhat overlooked figure in Japanese printmaking — both because of his significant role at a pivotal moment in the tradition, and because this particular image is strikingly beautiful and deserving of more recognition.

These kinds of projects teach us not only about the techniques and production methods used in mokuhanga, but also help us contextualize the development of the artform — and understand where we, as contemporary printmakers, stand in that ongoing timeline. The message is simple: onwards and upwards, learning from all that came before.

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