Toyohara Kunichika (1835-1900) - with Dr. Monika Hinkel
The Unfinished Print : A Mokuhanga Podcast
Release Date: 02/28/2025
Yvonne Hering - Printmaker : Ars Longa, Vita Brevis
The Unfinished Print : A Mokuhanga Podcast
When mokuhanga becomes a passion, I find it has the ability to clarify everything, in how you see the world, how you take everything in, and even how you analyze it. Mokuhanga has the ability to make so many things come into focus, pointing you into a clearer direction. On this episode, I speak with Australian printmaker Yvonne Hering. Yvonne has taken her passion for mokuhanga and made it her life’s work. Through her own prints, her travels to Japan, and her dedication to teaching, she has helped bring mokuhanga to people around the world. We talk about her teachers, and how...
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Raluca Iancu - Printmaker : Setting Intentions
The Unfinished Print : A Mokuhanga Podcast
Mokuhanga is a medium that invites an adventurous side to ones personality. It can carry your ambitions to different places, allowing you to explore and grow—not only in your work, but in yourself. Raluca Iancu joins me, a mokuhanga printmaker who investigates her practice through other forms of printmaking, travel, and learning from diverse teachers and instructors from around the world. Raluca speaks with me about how she discovered mokuhanga, how her work is shaped by other printmaking mediums, and how her travels and residencies have influenced her practice. We also discuss...
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Ogawa Washi w/ Seiko Musashi : Stick To Your Principals
The Unfinished Print : A Mokuhanga Podcast
As regular listeners may know, in my free time, I’vbe been researching Japanese washi. I’m looking for the “perfect paper," something that I can return to again and again in my own prints. It hasn’t been straightforward. There’s a lot of washi out there. A lot to test. A lot to understand. The search continues. I’d like to introduce you to a papermaking community in Saitama Prefecture, Japan — Ogawa Washi. In Ogawa and Higashi-Chichibu, papermakers have been producing washi for over 1,300 years with studios continuing to operate there today. I had...
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Hidehiko Gotō - Printmaker/Master Baren Maker
The Unfinished Print : A Mokuhanga Podcast
I’m trying to make my travels to and from Japan as fruitful as possible—through interviews, printing and carving, and by continuing to educate myself about mokuhanga. The goal is to keep improving, to make work I’m truly proud of, and to bring you the highest quality content I’m capable of. On this episode of The Unfinished Print: A Mokuhanga Podcast, I’m joined by Gotō Hidehiko, a mokuhanga printmaker and master baren maker. As most people likely know—or certainly should by now—Gotō-san is one of the finest craftspeople working today. His baren are nothing short of...
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Roslyn Kean - Printmaker : The Spectrum Of Colours That Exist
The Unfinished Print : A Mokuhanga Podcast
One of the hallmarks of mokuhanga is building a strong foundation grounded in tradition. By studying deeply and making work informed by those who came before us, today’s mokuhanga printmakers help carry this beautiful tradition forward. On this episode of The Unfinished Print, a mokuhanga podcast, I speak with Roslyn Kean, a mokuhanga printmaker who is continuing the tradition of mokuhanga while developing her own unique perspective. Roslyn’s work is a wonderful example of how mokuhanga can be both rooted in tradition and open to exploration. Roslyn and I talk about her...
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Sarah Brayer : Printmaker - Nothing In Isolation
The Unfinished Print : A Mokuhanga Podcast
For many of us, travel to Japan is something we do once in a while. We save and plan, then journey to a country that offers so much to our mokuhanga practice. But for others, the trip becomes extended, and Japan becomes a place to build a life and make work. Japan becomes central to who they are and how they see the world. On this episode of The Unfinished Print: A Mokuhanga Podcast, I speak with Sarah Brayer, a visual artist who has made her home in Kyoto, where she has created a wide range of visual art such as mokuhanga, poured washi, fusuma murals, and aquatint. In our interview, we...
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Nobuko Yamasaki : Printmaker - Everything Connected
The Unfinished Print : A Mokuhanga Podcast
Mokuhanga is an artistic medium that can challenge those who practice it. Over a long career, printmakers often feel the desire to see what else they can do with the medium, to push its boundaries and explore where it can take them. On this episode of The Unfinished Print, a mokuhanga podcast, I speak with Nobuko Yamasaki, a mokuhanga printmaker whose career has taken her from Japan to the United States, where she has settled in Michigan and built her life. Nobuko and I talk about her early work and her mokuhanga teacher, Richard Steiner his teachings and the...
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Allison Tolman of The Tolman Collection : It's About The Stories
The Unfinished Print : A Mokuhanga Podcast
Collecting mokuhanga has never been easier. You no longer need to visit galleries as often; you can purchase prints online from anywhere in the world, all from the comfort of your own home. But you’d be doing yourself a disservice to stop there. Seeing prints in person at galleries is a wonderful experience — it allows you to get up close to the work, to see what your potential investment looks like under the lights, and to speak with the people who work in the galleries and collections, who can help guide you toward the right decision. One such gallery is in Tokyo and New York and has a...
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Elizabeth Forrest : Printmaker - Have Baren, Will Travel
The Unfinished Print : A Mokuhanga Podcast
For everyone listening to today’s episode—especially if you’re a mokuhanga printmaker—you can probably trace your first step into the art form back to a single person, someone who sparked your journey into mokuhanga, however it has evolved over time. On this episode of The Unfinished Print: A Mokuhanga Podcast, I speak with that person for me: Elizabeth Forrest. Elizabeth was my first mokuhanga teacher, the one who encouraged me to study the practice and explore its technical depths. Elizabeth is an accomplished printmaker with a long and varied career. We discuss her discovery of...
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Charles Spitzack : Printmaker - The Balancing Act Of Water
The Unfinished Print : A Mokuhanga Podcast
For many artists, an art career takes many twists and turns—an adventure shaped by different mediums, jobs, and ways of sustaining creative work while at the same time, educating oneself with the histories of your chosen path. On this episode of The Unfinished Print: A Mokuhanga Podcast, I speak with printmaker Charles Spitzack. We talk about his discovery of mokuhanga and how it connects to his broader printmaking practice. Charles shares his early experiences making mokuhanga, his teaching methods, and how his understanding of the medium developed through a Western American...
info_outlineToyohara Kunichika (1835-1900) is considered one of the last great ukiyo-e print designers of Japan. His evocative works helped shape some of the most significant prints from the latter era of ukiyo-e and burgeoning Meiji nishiki-e.
I welcome back to the show Dr. Monika Hinkel, Lecturer in the Arts of East Asia at SOAS (the School of Oriental and African Studies) at the University of London and an Academic Member of the Japan Research Centre where we explore Kunichika’s life and career. We discuss Kunichika's upbringing in Edo-period Japan (1603–1868), his training at the Utagawa School, and his evolution as an ukiyo-e artist.
We discuss Kunichika's creative process, the woodblock production methods of the Edo and Meiji periods, and his favoured themes—kabuki actors, and beautiful women. We also discuss how Kunichika subtly incorporated Japan’s emerging modernity into his designs. Lastly, Dr. Hinkel and I share our personal stories about why we have such an affinity for Toyohara Kunichika and his work.
Please follow The Unfinished Print and my own mokuhanga work on Instagram @andrezadoroznyprints or email me at theunfinishedprint@gmail.com
Notes: may contain a hyperlink. Simply click on the highlighted word or phrase.
Artists works follow after the note if available. Pieces are mokuhanga unless otherwise noted. Dimensions are given if known. Print publishers are given if known.
Ichikawa Sandanji I (1842-1904) as Akiyama Kiimori from New Plays for the Meiji Theatre (1894) Published by Akiyama Buemon
ukiyo-e - is a multi colour woodblock print generally associated with the Edo Period (1603-1867) of Japan. What began in the 17th Century as prints of only a few colours, evolved into an elaborate system of production and technique into the Meiji Period (1868-1912). With the advent of photography and other forms of printmaking, ukiyo-e as we know it today, ceased production by the late 19th Century.
Utagawa School - was a school of print designers starting with Utagawa Toyoharu (1735-1814). He employed one point perspective (vanishing point) in his print designs, being influenced by Western perspective. The influence of the Utagawa school goes far in Japanese print history and one of its most successful. This schools print designs of kabuki portraits, beautiful women (bijin-ga), and landscapes are excellent. Some famous names attributed to the Utagawa school are Utamaro (1753-1806), Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865), and Ando Hiroshige (1797-1858). A fine description of this school can be found, here at Artelino.
The Mirror of Women of Wisdom and Courage - Princess Chujo (1843)
Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865) is widely regarded as one of the most significant woodblock print designers in Japanese history. His diverse portfolio includes prints ranging from landscapes and books to erotica and sumo. Kunisada worked during the vibrant era of nishiki-e alongside notable artists such as Andō Hiroshige (1797-1858), Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849), and the aforementioned Kuniyoshi. This period represents a rich and abundant chapter in Japanese woodblock print history.
Beauty in a Mirror - Beauty Applying Perfume On Her Neck (date unknown)
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***The opinions expressed by guests in The Unfinished Print podcast are not necessarily those of André Zadorozny and of Popular Wheat Productions.***