Taking from what was once perceived as the ‘low-art’ of Ukiyo-e, Japanese artist Hiroshi Yoshida took upon the labor of an artist, a carver and a printer to create stunning visuals of 1930s India. From Taj Mahal to the riversides of Benares, these prints are now used as postcards that have the stamped memories of Yoshida’s travels across our country.

Japanese traditional art of woodblock printing, Ukiyo-e, literally translates into images of the floating or sorrowful world. Yoshida, who was part of the Shin-hanga art movement of the 20th century, was heavily influenced by this traditional style and continued to practice it even after it began to decline as artists began picking up the digital camera instead.

Motivated to travel across the world, as a Shin-hanga artist he was heavily influenced by the European Impressionism that introduced light and expression on individual moods of landscapes, architecture and people. Therefore when one compares the prints of Ukiyo-e with Shin-Hanga, they observe the stark difference as even though both are created as woodblock prints, the latter comes to life with shadows and dense colour pallets.

Towards the end of his artistic life, Yoshida aspired to compile all his prints from his travel and create a series called One Hundred Views of the World, but unfortunately passed away before we could initiate a beginning. Although, he did leave bits and pieces of his exquisite travels in the form of these prints that remain one of the prime examples of the Shin-hanga art movement. He travelled frequently to United States, Europe, Africa but spent two years on an artistic expedition in south east Asia (1929-31). While traveling across India with his son along with guide books and almanacs, Yoshida slowly managed to carve the India of the 1930s onto woodblocks and thus immortalising the delicate beauty of the gone yet remembered time.