Imagine walking through the rooms of a museum and finding you suddenly suspended between two worlds: the ancient Japanese tradition with its kimono, tea ceremonies and foggy landscapes, and the frenzy of western modernity with trains, electricity and new fashions. This is the magic that gives the exhibition “Gli Shinhanga. A revolution in Japanese prints”, which can be visited until June 15, 2025 at the San Salvatore Museum in Lauro in Rome.
When Japan met the West
The story has its turning point, and for Japan one of the most significant took place in 1853, when the US ships landed in the waters of Edo (the current Tokyo). After more than two centuries of voluntary insulation, the country of the Rising Sun was forced to reopen its doors to the western world.
This meeting/clash of cultures was not painless, but produced one of the most fascinating cultural transformations of modern history. In a few decades, Japan went from feudal society to industrial power, absorbing technologies, customs and artistic influences from abroad, without however renouncing their identity.
Shinhanga
In this context of turmoil the Shinhanga (literally “new prints”) was born, an artistic movement that flourished in the early decades of the twentieth century up to the second post -war period. The Roman exhibition, curated by the expert of Japanese culture Paola Scolavezza and conceived by Vertigo Syndrome in collaboration with the swan art, accompanies us on this fascinating journey through over one hundred woodcut prints.
But what makes Shinhanga unique compared to traditional Ukiyo-E prints of previous centuries?
While the subjects remain linked to the classic Japanese imagination – temples, pagodas, tea ceremonies, flowers, natural landscapes – is the sensitivity that radically changed. Shinhanga artists introduce an innovative use of light and shadows, creating melancholy and suggestive atmospheres, techniques of western perspective that give depths to the images, a richer and faded color palette that allows greater realism, a more natural and intimate representation of the female figure.
Women in Shinhanga: no more icons but people
Particularly interesting is the evolution of female representation. If in traditional prints women appeared as idealized or stereotyped figures, in Shinhanga they become protagonists of everyday life.
The bijinga (portraits of beautiful women) of artists such as ITō Shinsui (1898-1972) show us young women caught in moments of intimacy-while they comb, make up or during the bathroom-revealing not only their physical beauty but also their humanity and emotions. A revolution not only artistic but also social, which reflects the change of female status in Japan in modernization.
Landscapes of the soul
The other great protagonist of Shinhanga is the landscape, often transfigured by the weather conditions. The views of Kawase Hasui (1883-1957), one of the most famous masters of the movement, capture natural and urban scenarios immersed in the snow, in the rain or illuminated by the moonlight.
These are not simple style exercises: they represent the attempt to preserve the traditional soul of Japan in an era of rapid changes. The temples, traditional bridges and gardens become symbols of cultural resistance, albeit represented with innovative techniques that combine the Japanese woodcut tradition with western pictorial influences.
A multisensory experience
The Roman exhibition is not limited to the exposure of prints, but creates an immersive experience in the Japanese culture of the time. The exhibition itinerary is enriched by:
The gaze towards the West
One of the most curious aspects revealed by the exhibition is the charm that the West exercised on the Japanese imagination. Even before the forced reopening of the country, the Japanese artists fantasized on how life could be beyond their borders.
A lively print by Utagawa Yoshitora, dating back to the second half of the nineteenth century, imagines an American scene with elegant characters who observe hot air balloons get up in the sky – a dreamlike vision of the West by those who had never seen it directly.
Later, with the opening of the borders, the artists of Shinhanga traveled to Europe and America, portraying with their unique style places such as Venice, London and even the pyramids of Giza.
A bridge between past and future
Visiting this exhibition means understanding how a millennial culture has been able to reinvent itself without getting lost. Shinhanga is not only an artistic movement, but the visual testimony of how Japan has sailed the stormy waters of modernization keeping their identity firm.
In an era like ours, in which globalization and local traditions seem to be in constant conflict, the example of Shinhanga offers us a precious lesson: the dialogue between different cultures can generate beauty, when it occurs in compliance with its roots.
