Some 222 Japanese prints ranging in style from the traditional to the abstract will feature in the 46th College Women's Association of Japan Print Show at the Tokyo American Club in Azabudai, Minato Ward, from Oct. 19-21.

"Memory No. 20" (1995) by Hagiwara Hideo

The show includes the work of 161 selected artists from all over Japan, including among many well-known contributors, Clifton Karhu, an American resident of Kyoto since 1955 and the first non-Japanese member of the Japan Print Association.

For woodblock printmaker Hideo Hagiwara, this will be his 31st year as an exhibitor at the annual event. Born in Yamanashi Prefecture in 1913, he graduated from Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music in 1938 and has since won many national and international prizes.

However, Hagiwara's talent was first recognized overseas, as his ideas were too eccentric for the world of traditional Japanese prints. Eventually, though, he won recognition here after his development of a woodblock relief-printing technique.

The prints in both the main display and an Associate Show, featuring work by four recent printmaking graduates, are all for sale, with some also appearing on posters, calendars, diaries and greeting cards.

All proceeds support the activities of the CWAJ, a nonprofit volunteer organization founded in 1949 by a group of women to provide financial aid for Japanese students to study abroad. Since then, CWAJ has also been active in encouraging community education and culture. Money raised at this show will go to its special fund to support Japanese women studying abroad, non-Japanese women seeking to study here, and visually impaired university students.