Saishūtō (Cheju Island [Korea])

Sekino Jun'ichiro was one of the most prominent leaders of the sosaku hanga or creative print movement, a group of artists who strove to work independently of the traditional print workshop where artists would simply supply designs and technicians would carve and print the work. The Sosaku Hanga artists learned printmaking techniques and used them innovatively. After World War II, during Japan's recovery from the destruction of the war years, the Sosaku Hanga artists began anew to expand the creative boundaries of their art. They worked in larger formats, but were often restricted to using less expensive woods, even plywood for carving their blocks, due to the short supply of high quality wood.