Hiroshi Yoshida: Discovering India through the Eyes of a Master Painter

Hiroshi Yoshida (1876–1950), a 20th-century Japanese painter and woodblock printmaker, is widely regarded as one of the greatest artists of the Shin-hanga art style. 

Shin-hanga (新版画) was an art movement in early 20th-century Japan. Perhaps what added to Yoshida's exclusivity were his distant travels to untouched lands across the globe, where he sought to gather distinct artistic expressions and landscapes.

Inspired by Travel

Born in the city of Kurume, Fukuoka in September 1876, Yoshida moved to Tokyo in his later teens. There, he finally enrolled in a painting school sponsored by Koyama Shotaro. He subsequently became a member of the Meiji Bijutsukai, the first Western-style art organization in Japan.

Following the Great Kanto earthquake of 1923, Yoshida embarked on a tour of the United States and Europe, painting and selling his works. Upon returning to Japan in 1925, he started his own workshop. He specialized in landscapes, which drew inspiration from Japan as well as his travels abroad. 

To establish this studio, Yoshida hired a group of professional carvers and printers. Then, he launched two series titled Europe and The United States and published works like The Grand Canyon in the same year. In the subsequent year, 1926, Yoshida published 41 prints — the greatest number of prints published in a year throughout his entire professional life.

Artistic Style

Hiroshi Yoshida was widely traveled and knowledgeable of Western aesthetics, yet maintained an allegiance to traditional Japanese techniques and traditions. He studied Western-style painting, making several trips to the United States, Europe, and North Africa, where he sold his watercolors and oil paintings. 

While highly successful as an oil painter and watercolor artist, Yoshida turned to woodblock printmaking upon learning of the Western world's infatuation with ukiyo-e, a traditional genre of Japanese art that flourished from the 17th to 19th centuries. 

The term ukiyo-e (浮世絵) translates as "picture[s] of the floating [transient] world." Having a great affinity with nature, Yoshida was convinced that beauty was to be discovered within nature's domain. Although he designed his last woodblock print in 1946, Yoshida continued to paint with oils and watercolors up until his death in 1950. He was a leading figure in the Japanese art world of his time in the fields of woodblock prints, watercolors, and oil paintings. In total, he produced about 250 woodblock prints.

Art and Travel

Yoshida's travels took him to many parts of the world, most interestingly to India, and parts of Southeast Asia. Although he was primarily known as a mountain painter in Japan, Yoshida subsequently garnered praise for his landscape prints and spent about half his time sketching on travels. He was particularly regarded for his images of non-Japanese subjects in traditional Japanese woodblock style, including the Taj Mahal in north-central India. 

The Taj Mahal is an immaculate mausoleum of white marble. It was built between 1631 and 1648 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his beloved wife. The mausoleum is considered a jewel of medieval Indian art and architecture and remains one of the most universally admired masterpieces of world heritage.

The India Connection

From November 1930 to February 1931, Yoshida embarked on a journey to India and many parts of Southeast Asia. He was accompanied by his eldest son Toshi. On his fourth travel abroad, Yoshida ensured to capture the sunrise at Mount Kanchenjunga under clear skies. He also observed the different phases and positions of the moon to sketch the perfect version of the Taj Mahal on a full moon night. 

In his six prints of the Taj Mahal published in 1932, the fifth and sixth were done in the betsuzuri method. Each depicts a morning and night scene. Yoshida's India and Southeast Asia series resulted in 32 paintings.

Besides his famed paintings of the Taj Mahal, perhaps what stands rather underrated is his awe-inspiring work depicting the ghats (river banks) of Benaras. Varanasi (or Benaras) is one of the oldest living cities in the world. Enthralled by the legend and sanctity of Benaras, celebrated author and novelist Mark Twain once wrote, "Benaras is older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend, and looks twice as old as all of them put together."

Yoshida ultimately became a central figure in the artists' society Taiheiyogakai and undertook his last sketching trip to Izu and Nagaoka at the age of 73. There, he painted his last works, The Sea of Western Izu and The Mountains of Izu. He passed away at his Tokyo home in April 1950.

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Author: Dr Monika Chansoria

Learn more about Dr Chansoria and follow her column "All Politics is Global" on JAPAN Forward, and on X (formerly Twitter). The views expressed here are those of the author and do not reflect the views of any organization with which she is affiliated.