Shin-hanga

 was an art movement in early 20th-century Japan, during the Taishō and Shōwa periods, that revitalized traditional "ukiyo-e" art rooted in the Edo and Meiji periods (17th–19th century). It maintained the traditional "ukiyo-e" collaborative system ("hanmoto" system) where the artist, carver, printer, and publisher engaged in division of labor, as opposed to the parallel "sōsaku-hanga" (creative prints) movement which advocated the principles of "self-drawn" ("jiga"), "self-carved" ("jikoku") and "self-printed" ("jizuri"), according to which the artist, with the desire of expressing the self, is the sole creator of art.
The movement was initiated and nurtured by publisher Watanabe Shozaburo (1885–1962), and flourished from around 1915 to 1942, resuming on a smaller scale after the Second World War through the 1950 and 1960s. Inspired by European Impressionism (which itself had drawn from ukiyo-e), the artists incorporated Western elements such as the effects of light and the expression of individual moods, but focused on strictly traditional themes of landscapes ("fukeiga"), famous places ("meishō"), beautiful women ("bijinga"), kabuki actors ("yakusha-e"), and birds-and-flowers ("kachō-e"). 
History.
"Shin-hanga" prints were directed to a Western audience largely through Western patronage and art dealers such as Robert O. Muller (1911-2003). Primarily aimed at foreign markets, "shin-hanga" prints appealed to Western taste for nostalgic and romanticized views of Japan and as such, enjoyed immense popularity overseas. In the 1920s, there were articles on "shin-hanga" in the "International Studio", "The Studio", "The Art News" and "The Art Digest" magazines. In 1921, a "Shinsaku-hanga Tenrankai" ("New Creative Print Exhibition") was held in Tokyo. One hundred and fifty works by ten artists were exhibited. In 1930 and 1936, two major "shin-hanga" exhibitions were held at the Toledo Museum of Art in Ohio. They were the largest showcases of "shin-hanga" prints at the time.
There was not much domestic market for "shin-hanga" prints in Japan. "Ukiyo-e" prints were considered by the Japanese as mass commercial products, as opposed to the European view of "ukiyo-e" as fine art during the climax of Japonisme. After decades of modernization and Westernization during the Meiji era, architecture, art and clothing in Japan came to follow Western modes. Japanese art students were trained in the Western tradition. Western oil paintings ("yōga") were considered high art and received official recognition from the Bunten (The Ministry of Education Fine Arts Exhibition). "Shin-hanga" prints, on the other hand, were considered as a variation of the outdated "ukiyo-e". They were dismissed by the Bunten and were subordinated under oil paintings and sculptures.
"Shin-hanga" declined as the military government tightened its control over the arts and culture during wartime. In 1939, the Army Art Association was established under the patronage of the Army Information Section to promote war art. By 1943, an official commission for war painting was set up and artists’ materials were rationed. Overseas market for Japanese prints declined drastically at the same time.
Demand for "shin-hanga" never regained its momentum postwar. Nevertheless a small number of artists continued in the tradition. Artists such as Shinsui Itō (1898–1972) and (1907–1980) continued to utilize the collaborative system during the 1960s and 1970s. In the last decades of the 20th century publishers instead concentrated on making reproductions of early 20th century "shin-hanga" meanwhile "sōsaku-hanga" enjoyed immense popularity and prestige in the international art scene. The early 21st century has seen somewhat of a resurgence in "shin-hanga" popularity notably in market demand for earlier masters such as Kawase Hasui (1883–1957) and Hiroshi Yoshida (1876–1950), and for new artists continuing the "shin-hanga" aesthetic such as Paul Binnie (1967–).