Watanabe Sadao

The hanga prints of Sadao Watanabe have been widely acclaimed both in Japan and internationally for providing a fresh insight into the Biblical message. His works leave both a visual and spirutual impact on those who encounter his art. Watanabe has created a new art style by adapting the traditional Japenese folk art tecnique of textile stencil dyeing,, known as katazome, to the medium of Japenese handcrafted washi paper, resulting in Watanabe’s own, “stencil-dyed hanga prints,” which abound in humor and freedom of expression.

Born in Tokyo in 1913, he began the study of folk art , stencil dye printing with Keisuke Serizawa, in 1941. Beginning with the First Japan Folk Art Museum Award in 1947. Watanabe has recieved many awards and honors including First Prize for his ‘Bronze Serpent’ submitted to the Contemporary Japan Print Exhibition sponsored in 1958 by St. James Church, New York. His works are in the permanent collections of many international museums including the British Museum, New York Museum of Modern Art, Vatican Museum of Modern Religious Art, Tokyo National Museum of Modern Art, and the Ohara Art Museum.

Watanabe in presently active as a member of the Kokugakai National Artists Society, the Japan Hanga Academy, and the Japan Christian Art Association.

Born July 7, 1913, in Tokyo, where he still lives. No formal art education but, like Mori Yoshitoshi, received guidance from Yanagi Soetsu. Winner of several Japanese art awards. Textile designer. Lists his other interests as “plants and animals.”

James A Michener, The Modern Japanese Print -An Appreciation-

Tokyo, Japan: Charles E. Tuttle Company 1962, Page 28