Snowy Morning

Early morning light falls on a snow-covered scene in this 1942 oban woodblock print by Komura Settai. The title specifies the time of day, directing attention to the particular quality of winter dawn when low-angled light creates long blue shadows across fresh snow. Settai captures this transient moment through careful control of the printing process, using pale washes and subtle gradation to suggest the cold, clear light of a morning after snowfall. The composition likely includes architectural elements partially buried in drifts, a common motif in Japanese snow-scene prints that dramatizes the contrast between human construction and natural accumulation. The 1942 date places this among Settai's wartime prints, works of quiet beauty produced in difficult circumstances.