A dark horse of the proletarian art movement and leader of Shin Hanga Shudan, Ono Tadashige (1909-1990) was a political activist, artist, and publisher born in Tokyo in 1909. Ono's work, with its black undertones, sonorous color, and haunting images of urban decay, is perhaps the darkest of the sosaku hanga artists. After graduating from Hosei University in 1941, Ono studied at the Hongo Painting Institute from 1924 to 1927. He began using his art (influenced by German expressionism) as an impetus for social revolution; for example, the January 1935 cover of Shin Hanga depicts the embittered faces of Japan's working class in heated protest. Ono further contributed to HANGA and served as both publisher and contributor for Shin Hanga. 

In 1936, he joined and exhibited with Nihon Hanga Kyokai; unfortunately, one year into his membership, he withdrew, citing disagreements regarding acceptance policies. In its place, he joined Nihon Bijutsu-kai. Soon afterward, he converted his own organization Shin Hanga Shudaninto Zokei Hanga Kyokai with the intention of focusing on art rather than social activism. As he mellowed with age, Ono's hanga became less embittered, although the social commentary is still prevalent. In 1949, he became a founder of the Japan Print Movement Society and was later represented in the Tokyo Biennale in 1957. Four years later, Ono was also featured in a modern print exhibition held in the USSR. In his later years, he taught at the Tokyo University of Fine Arts, Aichi University, Hiroshima University, and Utsunomiya University. Ono Tadashige passed away in 1990 at the age of eighty-one.