Allison Tolman of The Tolman Collection : It's About The Stories

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 long history of showcasing wonderful contemporary prints — from mokuhanga and aquatint to lithography and other mediums. The Tolman Collection Tokyo, located in the Shibadaimon district of Minato, Tokyo, has been operating for over 50 years and enjoys a strong reputation both in Japan and around the world.

In this episode of The Unfinished Print: A Mokuhanga Podcast, I speak with Allison Tolman of The Tolman Collection Tokyo. We discuss how the gallery began — from the hope and a dream of Allison’s parents, Mary and Norman Tolman, who built a life and a    business in a new country, to their friendships with many of the most important printmakers of their time. Allison shares why prints remain so vital today, emphasizing their democratic nature. She also discusses the differences between contemporary printmakers in Japan and those in the West, as well as the unique experiences of selling prints in Tokyo versus at The Tolman Collection in New York.

Please follow The Unfinished Print: A Mokuhanga Podcast and my own mokuhanga work on Instagram @andrezadoroznyprints or email me [e-mail]

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. 

The Tolman Collection - Tokyo, New York

Machida City of Graphic Arts - is a print gallery located in Machida City, Tokyo, Japan. More info can be found, here. 

Kitaoka Fumio (1918-2007) - was a painter who moved onto mokuhanga later in life. Kitaoka was a sōsaku hanga printmaker whose works touched on anti-war themes and Japanese society, emigres and the working class. 

Tsukiji Fish Market (1988) 

Tadashige Ono (1909-1990) - was a socially conscience printmaker of Post-War Japan. Tadashige's early works were influenced by the west with German Expressionism and later in his career, as his personal politics began to change, Tadashige;'s prints began to focus on an industrial Japan. 

House (Hiroshima) (1957)

Tōkō Shinoda (1913-2021) - was a calligrapher and painter in Japan. Shinoda saw herself as an artist who combined painting and calligraphy together defying categorization. More information can be found, here from The Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto. 

Sound (ca 1990) lithograph on paper 17 5/8" h x 23 3/8" w

Clifton Karhu (1927-2007) -  was a mokuhanga printmaker based in Japan. Karhu lived in Japan for most of his life after studying with Tetsuo Yamada and Stanton Macdonald-Wright. HIs themes were of his home city of Kyoto, Japan. More information can be found, here. 

Black Robe (1976) 

shin hanga - is a style of Japanese woodblock printmaking that emerged in the early 20th century, marking the end of the nishiki-e period. Originating around 1915 under the direction of Watanabe Shōzaburō (1885-1962), the art form responded to the foreign demand for "traditional" Japanese imagery. Shin hanga artists focused on motifs like castles, bridges, famous landscapes, and bamboo forests. The style was initiated when Watanabe discovered Austrian artist Fritz Capelari (1884-1950) and commissioned him to design prints for Watanabe's budding printing house. This collaboration led to the evolution of shin hanga into a distinctive new style of Japanese woodblock printing. The shin hanga movement thrived until its inevitable decline after the Second World War (1939-1945).

Shōzaburō Watanabe (1885-1962) - was one of the most important print publishers in Japan in the early 20th Century. His business acumen and desire to preserve the ukiyo-e tradition were incredibly influential for the artists and collectors in Japan and those around the world. Watanabe influenced other publishers, but his work in the genre is unparalleled. The shin-hanga (new print) movement is Watanabe’s, collecting some of the best printers, carvers and designers to work for him. A great article by The Japan Times in 2022 discusses a touring exhibition of Watanabe’s work called Shin Hanga: New Prints of Japan, which can be found here. 

Kawamura Sayaka - is a mokuhanga printmaker based in Japan. Her work has an ethereal quality of mystery and fantasy. More information can be found on her Instagram. 

Bon Voyage IV (2019) 27.56 " × 27.56 "

AP - stands for Artist’s Proof. When a printmaker is almost ready to print an edition, they will create a few prints that serve as proofs of the final image before the edition is printed.

Gotō Hidehiko (b.1953) - is a mokuhanga printmaker and tool maker based in Japan. He makes and teaches seminars about the construction of the mokuhanga tool, the baren. 

Sound Of The Waves (2016) 15" × 12"

Zōjōji Daimon - is a Buddhist temple in Minato, Tokyo of the Jōdo-shū (Pure Land) sect of Buddhism

David Rockefeller (1915-2017) - was an American economist and investment banker who led Chase Manhattan Corporation as its chairman and CEO. From 2004 until his passing in 2017, he was the oldest living member of the Rockefeller family. The youngest of five sons, he was the child of John D. Rockefeller Jr. and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, and the grandson of John D. Rockefeller and Laura Spelman Rockefeller. 

Hasegawa Yuichi (1945-2025) - was a woodblock printmaker from Aizu in Fukushima Prefecture. He was from a family of lacquerware makers. Hasegawa incorporated lacquer resin and metallic paints into his reduction woodblocks, giving them a distinctive texture and gleam. Deeply influenced by Zen and the natural world, he aimed to capture the power and splendor of nature in his prints. 

Night Sky No. 5 (2000)

Seiko Kawachi - is a mokuhanga printmaker and painter based in Japan. His work is known for its rich use of color and dynamic energy. A longtime printmaking instructor at Tama Art University, he experienced a turning point in his middle age when he began exploring the influence of Hokusai. Using contemporary materials, his large, powerful prints capture the movement and vitality of the natural world.

Object: The Flying: Ki (The Flying: Introduction) (1985) mokuhanga and intaglio, 65" × 36"

Tama Art University - located in Tokyo, Japan, is one of the country’s leading institutions for art and design education. Founded in 1935, it offers programs in fine arts, design, architecture, and media arts, fostering both traditional and contemporary approaches to creativity. Known for its strong emphasis on experimentation and individual expression, Tama has produced many influential artists, designers, and educators who have shaped Japan’s modern art scene. More info, here. 

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