Igawa Sengai

Igawa Sengai (井川洗崖, 1876–1961) was a Japanese woodblock print artist who produced landscape and figure prints within the shin-hanga tradition during the first half of the twentieth century. Born in 1876, Sengai was among the older generation of artists who participated in the shin-hanga movement, bringing a Meiji-era artistic sensibility to the modern woodblock print format.

Sengai's prints encompass landscapes depicting Japanese scenic views and figure compositions that follow the conventions of the shin-hanga movement. His work demonstrates competent draftsmanship and an understanding of the atmospheric effects achievable through the woodblock medium's graduated color printing techniques. His landscapes show a sensitivity to the play of light and weather across the Japanese terrain that connects his work to the broader shin-hanga landscape tradition.

Limited biographical documentation has survived regarding Sengai's training and career, though his long life — he lived to eighty-five — suggests sustained engagement with the artistic world across several decades of Japan's tumultuous twentieth century. His prints appear occasionally at auction and are appreciated by collectors seeking examples of shin-hanga work by lesser-known but competent artists.