Shimizu Masahiro was born in Tokyo, and at an early age he allied himself with Ono Tadashige (1909-1990). Already in 1932 he was (like Ono Tadashige himself) one of the founding members of the proletarian Shin Hanga ShÅ«dan. He exhibited with the Nihon Hanga Kyôkai in the 1930s and, again like Ono Tadashige, he withdrew in protest when that group refused to accept all members of the Zôkei Hanga Kyôkai (the new manifestation of the Shin Hanga Shûdan). He is mainly known for scenes depicting Shita machi), often translated as downtown Tokyo, or low city Tokyo, and scenes showing the Sumida river. He is also known for prints showing the harshness of his experiences during WWII. At the end of the 20th century he was still active as a printmaker. Certainly in the West he is far less know than his "brother in arms", Ono Tadashige, but at its best his work is comparable to that of Ono Tadashige.
