Paper Tiger Japanese Art

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Paper Tiger Japanese Art

Paper Tiger specialises in Japanese art, with a particular passion for Japanese woodblock prints from the ukiyo-e and shin-hanga movements.

Paper Tiger buys, sells and values Japanese woodblock prints.

09/02/2026

What does an art buying trip to Japan actually look like?⁠
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Most people see the finished collection. They don’t always see the journey behind it.⁠
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For me, every buying trip is a balance of research, auctions, galleries, incredible food, museums, and exploring the places that inspired the artists whose work I collect.⁠
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There are long hours spent studying auction catalogues and examining prints, moments of excitement when I uncover something special, and plenty of time wandering Japan’s streets with a camera in one hand and a bowl of ramen in the other.⁠
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It’s one of the great privileges of this profession, not just sourcing beautiful woodblock prints, but experiencing the culture, history, and landscapes that gave them life.⁠
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Swipe through to spend a day in the life of a Japanese art dealer.⁠
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👇 If you could visit Japan tomorrow, what would be the first thing you’d do?⁠
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Paper Tiger Japanese Art⁠
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08/29/2026

This is Oboroyo (Hazy Moon on a Spring Night) by Itō Shinsui, first published in 1931 by Watanabe.⁠
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A leading master of the Shin-hanga movement, Shinsui was celebrated for his elegant bijin-ga (pictures of beautiful women). But unlike many earlier artists, his women feel remarkably human. Their expressions are thoughtful, their gestures natural, and their beauty understated.⁠
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In Oboroyo, a young woman stands beneath the soft glow of a hazy spring moon. The muted palette, delicate gradations of colour (bokashi), and quiet atmosphere create a scene that feels almost cinematic. Rather than telling a story outright, Shinsui invites us to pause and imagine it.⁠
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It’s this sense of restraint that makes his work so enduring. Nearly a century later, his prints remain among the most sought-after examples of Shin-hanga, admired for their technical brilliance and timeless elegance.⁠
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Sometimes, the quietest images leave the deepest impression. This print is for sale Paper Tiger Japanese Art (link in bio)⁠
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JapaneseArt ArtHistory PrintCollector PaperTigerJapaneseArt

08/25/2026

This is Kawase Hasui’s Utagahama on Lake Chūzenji.

It was designed in 1931 (Shōwa 6) and published by Watanabe Shōzaburō.

This print and more Paper Tiger Japanese Art

08/23/2026

If you’re a fan of Shin-Hanga woodblock prints, then you know about Watanabe Shōzaburō, the publisher behind the new prints movement. Did you know that you can still visit their gallery in Tokyo today? ⁠
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Founded by Shōzaburō Watanabe in 1909, Watanabe believed traditional Japanese woodblock printing deserved a revival, bringing together artists, carvers and printers to create what are now some of the most celebrated prints by Kawase Hasui, Hiroshi Yoshida, Ito Shinsui and many others.⁠
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What I love most is that you can still walk through the gallery in Tokyo today. Nearly 120 years later, it’s a living piece of printmaking history.⁠
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Most of the works available in the gallery today are posthumous editions, printed from the original woodblocks after an artist’s death. These are beautiful works in their own right and continue Watanabe’s printing tradition. If you’re hoping to purchase lifetime editions, those are generally reserved for Watanabe’s two major exhibitions held each year, where original impressions are released to collectors.⁠
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Walking into Watanabe feels like stepping into the history of Japanese printmaking. For anyone who loves Shin-hanga, it’s a place that’s absolutely worth visiting.⁠
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Paper Tiger Japanese Art (link in bio to browse our prints)

08/19/2026

How do you paint the world’s most famous mountain without repeating what everyone else has already done?⁠
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Kawase Hasui answered that question in Mount Fuji from Satta Mountain Pass (Satta Tōge no Fuji), first published in 1935 by Watanabe during the golden age of the Shin-hanga movement.⁠
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Rather than placing Mount Fuji front and centre, Hasui lets the landscape tell the story. A dark, rugged cliff frames the foreground, while soft layers of blue lead your eye across Suruga Bay to the snow-covered peak beyond. ⁠
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Nearly a century later, it’s easy to see why Hasui is regarded as one of Japan’s greatest landscape printmakers. He wasn’t simply depicting a place, he was capturing the feeling of being there.⁠
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If you were standing at Satta Pass, would your eyes go first to the mountain, the sea, or the clouds?⁠
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This print is for sale Paper Tiger Japanese Art (link in bio)

08/16/2026

Thrilled to get this iconic Hiroshi Yoshida print from his famed Inland Seto Sea series. This print, Glittering Sea has 3 of the top things I look for in a Yoshida print

1. Hiroshi Yoshida pencil signature
2. Jizuri seal (meaning it was self published by Yoshida)
3. Excellent condition

Paper Tiger Japanese Art

08/14/2026

There’s an adrenaline rush that comes with bidding at auction, but the hardest part happens before the auction even begins...⁠
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Before I place a single bid, I spend time researching each print. Condition, rarity, impression quality, provenance, recent sales... and then I decide on one thing: my maximum bid.⁠
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Once the auction starts, the temptation is always there to go just one bid higher. But that’s how dealers make expensive mistakes.⁠
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The discipline is knowing when to stop. Sometimes the best decision is to let a beautiful print go and wait for the next opportunity.⁠
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And then, every so often, the hammer falls in your favour.⁠
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Those moments never get old.⁠
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Behind every print that arrives at Paper Tiger are countless hours of research, careful decisions, and the excitement of competing with collectors and dealers from around the world to uncover exceptional works.⁠
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Paper Tiger Japanese Art

08/11/2026

Tsuchiya Koitsu (1870–1949) was one of the great masters of the Shin-hanga (new prints) movement, best known for his luminous landscapes of Japan’s temples, coastlines, and quiet rural scenes.⁠
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Koitsu has become one of the most sought-after Shin-hanga artists of the moment and his prints are fetching higher prices than ever before. His Ginza no ame print fetched a record price of $19,000USD at Christie’s NY in 2025.⁠
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Originally trained as a painter, Koitsu brought a refined, almost photographic sensitivity to light, weather, and atmosphere into woodblock printing. Working primarily with the Watanabe & Doi publishing houses, he created serene images that feel timeless.⁠
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We have a number of his prints at Paper Tiger and we are big fans of his work.⁠
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Paper Tiger Japanese Art

08/05/2026

Kawase Hasui’s final print wasn’t published until after his death.

Completed in 1957, Konjikido in Snow, Hiraizumi (Hall of the Golden Hue at Hiraizumi) became Hasui’s final design. After his passing, his longtime publisher, Watanabe Shōzaburō, printed the first impressions for Hasui’s 100-day memorial service. Fittingly, the print bears the “Zeppitsu” seal, meaning “final brushwork.”

Depicting a lone monk walking through the snow toward Hiraizumi’s Golden Hall, it feels like a fitting farewell from one of Japan’s greatest landscape printmakers.

Knowing the story behind a print often changes the way we see it, and this is one of those remarkable examples.

Paper Tiger Japanese Art

07/18/2026

Market in Mukden By Hiroshi Yoshida, 1937. New acquisition.

Pencil signature and Jizuri seal

To see more prints visit website www.papertigerarts.com (link in bio)

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