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- stand Japan's great print tradition and encouraged Japanese art connois�seurs to have the foresight to collect traditional woodblock prints.
Because of the great demand, soaring prices, and the sudden shortage of ukiyo-e prints, several antique print dealers began publishing repro�ductions of traditional ukiyo-e prints to sell. Watanabe began publishing reproductions, including reprints of the works of Harunobu Suzuki (ca. 1724-1770) for which he had the original blocks. However, he did recognize the value of producing new and original prints, and sought to revitalize the art of ukiyo-e. He started the production of new original prints in 1915, which he called shin hanga. He later tried to introduce the term shinsaku hanga, or newly created prints, but this did not stick and shin hanga remained the popular term.
The first original prints encouraged and commissioned by Watanabe were actually made in 1907 by the artist, Shotei Takahashi (1871-1945), who produced a huge number of landscape prints in various sizes from long narrow prints to postcard size. These prints, which were obviously inspired by the great landscape ukiyo-e master, Hiroshige Ando (1797-1858), are sometimes referred to as the first shin hanga prints. These new original prints met with reasonable success. In 1908 Watanabe added hundreds of bird- and-flower prints by Sozan Ito to his stock as well as the work of less notable artists like Shun'yo, Kakei, Fuyo and Shurei, whose small prints were often placed on calendars or used as Christmas cards. These cheap little prints were more commercial products or illustrations than self-conscious works of art and were often dismissed as "sweet and touristy."
Early on, Watanabe collaborated with a number of Western artists like Fritz Capelari in 1915, Charles Bartlett in 1916 and Elizabeth Keith in 1917 to make woodblock prints. The prints by Capelari might even be considered the first true shin hanga works of art. After seeing the print results of Capelari, the first major skilled Japanese artist, Goyo Hashiguchi, was persuaded by Watanabe to try to convert one of his paintings into print form. Some regard Goyo as the first and the greatest shin hanga artist.
In 1915 Watanabe published a print design by Goyo entitled Nude After the Bath. However, after this collaboration, Goyo left Watanabe to gain greater technical and artistic control of the entire printmaking process. He went on to design a small number of exceptionally good prints with meticu�lous technical standards before his untimely death in 1921 at the age of 42.
Shortly after his fallout with Goyo, Watanabe turned his attention to finding brilliant young artists who he could mold. One such talented artist was Shinsui Ito, a student of a leading Japanese-style painter named Kiyokata Kaburagi. Starting in 1916, Watanabe commissioned Shinsui to produce prints of landscapes and pictures of beauties (bijin-e). They would
8 AGGV COLLECTS/SHIN HANGA
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