Waichi Hayashi

Waichi Hayashi (林和一, 1905–1975) was a Japanese woodblock print artist who worked within both the sosaku-hanga (creative print) and mokuhanga traditions, creating nature and landscape compositions that reflected the sosaku-hanga principle of the artist as sole creator — designing, carving, and printing his own works. Active during a formative period in the development of modern Japanese printmaking, Hayashi contributed to the broader movement of Japanese artists who sought to establish the woodblock print as a medium for personal artistic expression rather than commercial reproduction. His prints depict landscapes, botanical subjects, and natural scenes rendered with the directness and personal touch that characterize sosaku-hanga. His work is held in private collections and occasionally appears at auction.

Waichi Hayashi was active from 1905 to 1975. They were associated with the Contemporary Mokuhanga and Sōsaku-hanga movements.

Waichi Hayashi's work was shaped by the Contemporary Mokuhanga and Sōsaku-hanga traditions in Japanese woodblock printmaking. Contemporary Mokuhanga: Contemporary mokuhanga (literally "wood-block print") encompasses artists working from approximately 1970 to the present who continue or reinvent traditional Japanese woodblock printing techniques. Sōsaku-hanga: The "creative prints" movement (c.

Original prints by Waichi Hayashi can be found in collections including ukiyo-e.org, Japanese Art Open Database, Ohmi Gallery, wbp.