SHINODA TOKO

Toko Shinoda is widely recognised as one of Japan’s greatest artists of the twentieth century. Born in 1913 in Manchuria, she began calligraphy training at just six years old. Her disciplined background in sumi ink brushwork laid the groundwork for a career that would blend traditional and modern techniques. Shinoda gained international recognition in the 1960s and 70s when Betty Parsons exhibited her work alongside artists like Mark Rothko and Jackson Pollock. With bold, black ink strokes over white fields, her art conveys energy, control, and clarity.

In the 1960s, Shinoda began working in lithography to make her work more accessible internationally. This technique preserved her spontaneous brushwork, as she could paint directly onto the lithographic plate or stone. Her prints often feature hand-painted elements and subtle grey gradients. Shinoda carefully balances white space and sumi ink, resulting in elegant minimalist compositions that reflect deep Japanese aesthetics.

Even into her 100s, Shinoda continued to produce stunning work from her Tokyo home. She died in 2021 at the age of nearly 108. Major institutions around the world, such as The British Museum, MOMA New York, The Guggenheim NY, Art Institute of Chicago, Singapore National Museum, and Tokyo National Museum of Modern Art, hold her prints in their permanent collections. At Hanga Ten, we proudly offer a curated selection of Toko Shinoda Japanese lithograph prints, which blend calligraphy, abstraction, and modern design—ideal for collectors of contemporary Japanese printmaking.