Hakutei Ishii was at the root of the Sosaku Hanga movement. After studying western-style painting with Asai Chû, he was the one who prompted Yamamoto Kanae to make his Fisherman in 1904, which print is generally considered to have heralded the Sôsaku Hanga movement. After 1904 he was involved in many of the movement's developments. Between 1910 and 1916 he designed 9 prints of a proposed set of 12, depicting traditionalbijin in a modern setting. In 1914 he self-carved and self-printed one of his most important prints, Kiba, depicting a floating lumber yard. Today he is highly regarded as an oil-painter and water-colourist. In fact he only produced woodblock prints at the start of his career.
