Crow in the Snow
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Source:
- Honolulu Museum of Art
- Image courtesy of
- Honolulu Museum of Art
Description
A crow observed in snowy conditions forms the subject of this woodblock print, a motif Kyosai returned to in multiple works. The crow held particular resonance in Japanese culture as a bird associated with the sun deity and as an omen-laden presence in urban and natural settings. Kyosai's treatment of such subjects typically favored dynamic postures — wings mid-furling, the beak turned sharply — over static display. Graduated bokashi shading may have been employed to suggest a cold, overcast sky, while the bird's glossy plumage would have required precise overprinting of black ink to convey depth and iridescence on washi paper.
More Prints by Kawanabe Kyosai
from the series One Hundred Pictures by Kyôsai (Kyôsai hyakuzu)
Woodblock print
Old Picture of the Rashômon Gate (Rashômon no ko zu), from the series Scenes of Famous Places along the Tôkaidô Road (Tôkaidô meisho fûkei), also known as the Processional Tôkaidô (Gyôretsu Tôkaidô), here called Tôkaidô meisho tsuzuki
Woodblock print
Tsukishimadera Temple in Hyôgo (Hyôgo Tsukishimadera), from the series Scenes of Famous Places along the Tôkaidô Road (Tôkaidô meisho fûkei), also known as the Processional Tôkaidô (Gyôretsu Tôkaidô), here called Tôkaidô meisho no uchi
Woodblock print
from the series One Hundred Pictures by Kyôsai (Kyôsai hyakuzu)
Woodblock print
More Snow Scenes Prints
Fair Weather After Snow at Yamato Bridge, Kyoto (Yamato bashi no yukibare), Taishô period, dated 1924
Woodblock print
The Compound of the Tenman Shrine at Kameido in the Snow (Kameido Tenmangu keidai no yuki), from the series "Famous Places in the Eastern Capital (Toto meisho)"
c. 1832/38
Color woodblock print; oban
Miyajima in Snow (Yuki no Miyajima)
Yuki no Miyajima
1929
Color woodblock print; oban
Evening Snow at Shiha Park, Tokyo
1932
Woodblock print
Frequently Asked Questions
Crow in the Snow was created by Kawanabe Kyosai (河鍋暁斎).
Crow in the Snow depicts snow scenes.