Shinojima (Shino island)

Prior to World War II, Ono Tadashige studied at both at Waseda School of Arts and Crafts in 1921 and Hongo Art Institute, from 1924–27. His early work was strongly influenced by German Expressionism which was popular in Russia at the time and was advancing among intellectuals in China. Expressionist ideas were extolled in Japan during this period, especially by artists returning from Europe and Russia.

Ono is associated with Sōsaku-hanga (Creative Art Movement) which supported and developed the idea of the Westernisation of Japan and the importance of the individual artist. In comparison with painting or sculpture, in Japan printing had earlier been considered an inferior craft. The modernist philosophy of Sōsaku-hanga declared that, rather than a series of artisans such as the carver, printer and publisher being involved in the print process, a single creator was to do it all. The change sought to elevate the importance of printmaking in Japan and with it the significance of the artist.

Shinojima (Shino island) is a drawing Ono most likely made during a 1975 trip to Shino Island. Rendered in quick, expressionistic black lines, the work captures the beauty of an ordinary scene – a narrow shadowy street lined with the traditional wooden houses of a fishing village.