White Horse Mountain refers to Hakuba-dake, the peak in the Northern Japanese Alps named for the snow patch that resembles a galloping horse when it appears on the eastern face during the spring planting season — a sign farmers used to time their fieldwork. Maeda's print likely shows the mountain in elevation, with a residual snowfield carving the dark silhouette of a horse against the rock face, a motif that lends itself to flat compositional treatment in woodblock. The image plays on the inversion of figure and ground: the white horse is unprinted paper, the surrounding rock cut and inked. [Bokashi](/glossary/bokashi) gradations along the slopes register the transitions between snow, scree, and shadow. The subject connects to the [meisho-e](/glossary/meisho-e) tradition of named landscape views, but Maeda's handling — bolder shapes, fewer tonal gradations — places it firmly within [sosaku-hanga](/glossary/sosaku-hanga) sensibilities, and the mountain's prominence in his catalogue is consistent with his preference for elevated, snow-carrying terrain over the gentler scenes typical of [shin-hanga](/glossary/shin-hanga).
Hebizukai
1932
Color woodblock print; oban
1935
Color woodblock print; oban
1964
Acrylic paint and oil pastel with oiled charcoal and ink over an ink and graphite underdrawing on paper
1964
Color lithograph with relief block and hand coloring; edition 35/36
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
White horse mountain was created by Maeda Masao (前田政雄).
White horse mountain depicts animals and mountains.
