Popular with foreign Westerners,
shin-hanga prints appealed to the Western taste for nostalgic and romanticized views of Japan and as such, enjoyed immense popularity overseas. In the 1920s, there were articles on
shin-hanga in the
International Studio,
The Studio,
The Art News and
The Art Digest magazines. The first
shin-hanga exported were Capelari and Bartlett prints in 1916, however, no foreign exhibitions were held until at Boston in March 1924. A larger exhibition of 68 works was held at the
Herron Art Institute in October 1926. Later, the promoter of said Boston and Indianapolis touring exhibitions, artist
Hiroshi Yoshida, helped organize and promote two very large exhibitions at the
Toledo Museum of Art in Ohio in 1930 and 1936. Through the 1930s and then after the Second World War, art dealers such as Robert O. Muller (1911-2003) imported
shin-hanga to satisfy Western demand. There was not much domestic market for
shin-hanga prints in Japan.
Ukiyo-e prints were considered by the Japanese as mass commercial products, as opposed to the European view of
ukiyo-e as fine art during the climax of
Japonisme. After decades of
modernization and
Westernization during the
Meiji era, architecture, art and clothing in Japan came to follow Western modes. Japanese art students were trained in the Western tradition. Western
oil paintings (
yōga) were considered high art and received official recognition from the
Bunten (The Ministry of Education Fine Arts Exhibition).
Shin-hanga prints, on the other hand, were considered as a variation of the outdated
ukiyo-e. They were dismissed by the Bunten and were subordinated under oil paintings and
sculptures. As foreign demand for
shin-hanga increased through the 1920s, the complexity of prints decreased.
Ground layers of
baren-suji and
goma were less commonly seen and the overall number of printing impressions decreased. To satisfy foreign collectors, colors became brighter and more saturated.
Shin-hanga supplanted
shinsaku-hanga in the souvenir market and the latter ceased production.
Shin-hanga declined as the military government tightened its control over the arts and culture during wartime. In 1939, the Army Art Association was established under the patronage of the Army Information Section to promote war art. By 1943, an official commission for war painting was set up and artists’ materials were rationed. Overseas market for Japanese prints declined drastically at the same time. Demand for
shin-hanga never regained its momentum postwar. Nevertheless a small number of artists continued in the tradition. Artists such as
Itō Shinsui (1898–1972) and (1907–1980) continued to utilize the collaborative system during the 1960s and 1970s. In the last decades of the 20th century publishers instead concentrated on making reproductions of early 20th century
shin-hanga; meanwhile
sōsaku-hanga enjoyed immense popularity and prestige in the international art scene. The early 21st century has seen somewhat of a resurgence in
shin-hanga popularity notably in market demand for earlier masters such as
Kawase Hasui (1883–1957) and Hiroshi Yoshida (1876–1950), and for new artists continuing the
shin-hanga aesthetic such as
Paul Binnie (1967–).
Steve Jobs, the head of Apple, was among the prominent collectors of
shin-hanga. ==Shinsaku Hanga vs. Shin-hanga==