Snow on the banks of the Kamo river

The Kamo River runs north-to-south through Kyoto and is one of the most-depicted watercourses in Japanese print history. This view records the river under snow, almost certainly with the wooded eastern hills behind and a low foreground of bank, reeds, or one of the river's stepping-stone crossings. Snow scenes are technically demanding in mokuhanga: the white of the unprinted [washi](/glossary/washi) must read as snow against carefully calibrated grey and indigo passages, and the printer must hold the paper crisp through multiple impressions without smudging the reserved areas. [Bokashi](/glossary/bokashi) along the sky and water surfaces builds the muted winter palette without competing with the snow itself. Snow views of the Kamo formed a recurring [shin-hanga](/glossary/shin-hanga) subject, and this print places Nomura within the lineage of Kyoto winter landscapes -- a thread in his output that, together with rain and twilight subjects, evidences his and his publisher's interest in atmospheric conditions over bright daylight scenery.