Het Japans prentenkabinet, Nihon no hanga, Keizersgracht 586, opent haar deuren in de maand mei 2017 met een nieuwe tentoonstelling West studies East and East studies West. 

De tentoonstelling kan in de maand mei bezocht worden op vrijdag, zaterdag en zondag vanaf 12:00-16:00 uur. Hiervoor hoeft u niet te reserveren.

Bezoekers worden gevraagd om even aan te bellen alvorens binnen gelaten te worden.


West studies East and East studies West. For our 2017 exhibition we delve into the beginnings of 20th century Japanese printmaking.

In the 19th century many western artists were infatuated with anything Japanese, and with Japan opening its doors to the world and new modes of travel, a journey to this intriguing country became a possibility.

While many notable western painters used the imagery and composition of Japanese prints as an inspiration, a few set their hearts on learning the elaborate process of woodblock printmaking. Among the early 20th century pioneers who voyaged to the Orient and immersed themselves in the world of Japanese prints were Fritz Capelari (AU), Emil Orlik (CZ), Pieter Irwin Brown (NL, also known as Peter van Oordt) Charles Bartlett (GB), Cyrus Baldridge (US), and Elizabeth Keith (GB).  Fritz Capelari supplied the first designs for what became known as shin hanga (new prints), spearheaded by publisher Watanabe Shōzaburō.

Others designed prints for him based on their Japanese inspired subject matter as well as sketches from their travels across Asia. Emil Orlik was known to have directly influenced artists such as Yamamoto Kanae, who was part of a new generation of Japanese printmakers who dedicated themselves to self-producing prints, titling it the sōsaku hanga (creative prints) movement. In turn, numerous artists belonging to this sōsaku hanga tradition, such as Nagase Yoshirō, Asahi Masahide and Ono Tadashige, ventured to Europe and were not only influenced by western style printmaking and imagery, but also extensively explored Asia to find new scenes to be translated into prints.

All of these artists, western and Japanese, became part of an intricate and fluid network of early 20th century printmaking, which even extended to contemporary western artists making their own Japanese style woodblock prints without ever adventuring to Japan.

Like for our previous Yoshitoshi exhibition we have again made an illustrated exhibition guide (in English) which will lead you along the prints with detailed information. It will be available for purchase at the museum for € 5,00.

I hope to welcome you to Adventurous Artists: Depicting Japan and the World this spring.

Elise Wessels
Director Nihon no hanga


Opening weekends

The exhibition can be visited during our open weekends in May, we will be open on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, from 12:00-16:00 hrs.
For a visit during these days you do not need to make a reservation, except for the guided tour (see below). Visitors are asked to ring our doorbell to be admitted to the museum.