On the walls of the Pavilion Gallery, white tailed kites soar above a dazzling pattern of spring ferns in April Vollmer’s print Circling. A Chinese bellflower unfurls its five violet petals in Kenji Takenaka’s Kikyō (桔梗) and a delicate chrysanthemum sprouts as though by magic from the red paper of an instant ramen cup in Yoonmi Nam’s Instant series.
These works by Vollmer, Takenaka, and Nam are just a selection by seven artists featured in Enduring Impressions: Contemporary Woodblock Prints, on display in the Pavilion Gallery this spring. The exhibition is the first collaboration between Portland Japanese Garden and the Honolulu Museum of Art, and celebrates iconic art of mokuhanga (木版画), the centuries-old process of Japanese-style woodblock printmaking.
Mokuhanga has an extensive history in Japan, and the accessible price and transportable nature of prints allowed imagery and artistry from Japan to travel widely around the world and become a globally renowned art form after Japan opened its borders at the turn of the 19th century. Enduring Impressions reveals how a centuries-old tradition is experiencing a contemporary revival as artists around the world use the quiet power and unique characteristics of woodblock printmaking to create captivating works of art.
Part of the beauty of the contemporary landscape of mokuhanga is the community being built around the practice, in addition to the exquisite artworks themselves. Today, new generations of artists have been inspired to learn the art of mokuhanga, contributing to the spread of this art form across cultures and years.
The work of the seven artists in the Pavilion Gallery represent a selection of this community of contemporary artists inspired by the aesthetics and process of mokuhanga. Co-curated with Stephen Salel, the Honolulu Museum of Art’s Curator of Japanese Art, the work of seven artists in the Pavilion Gallery represent a selection of this community that has been inspired by the aesthetics and process of mokuhanga. Six artists – Kenji Takenaka, April Vollmer, Yoonmi Nam, Miho Morinoue, Hiroko Morinoue, and Setsuko Morinoue, were exhibited at HoMA in the fall of 2025. Representing Portland’s own vibrant arts community is Aya Morton, an Oregon-based artist and illustrator.
Behind the contemporary landscape of mokuhanga lies an extensive tradition stretching across centuries. The Calvin and Mayho Tanabe Gallery presents just a chapter of this rich legacy through the exhibition of work by two artists who differ in culture, era, and style, but who are united in process: shin hanga artist Kawase Hasui (1883-1957) and Portland-born abstract artist Richard Diebenkorn (1922–1993). On loan from The Lavenberg Collection of Japanese Prints and the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation respectively, these prints were both created using the highly coordinated design process known as the hanmoto (版元) system, in which a publisher “led” an operation involving multiple artists and craftspeople to produce printed artwork, including the artist who created the original design, woodblock carvers, and printers.
Wandering through the gallery of nature-inspired prints, one might feel the presence of artists and audiences across centuries who were equally inspired by the same beauty of the natural world as well as the careful and detailed process of creating mokuhanga prints. Rooted in tradition but growing within community and innovation, the contemporary landscape of mokuhanga artists continues to evolve and inspire.
Enduring Impressions: Contemporary Woodblock Prints is open now through June 15.