Snow at Shiga Hights

Shiga Heights, a highland plateau in Nagano Prefecture, sits at elevations above 1,500 meters and receives heavy snowfall throughout the winter months. This woodblock print depicts the highlands under deep snow, where drifts reshape the terrain into smooth, undulating forms and isolated trees emerge as dark verticals against the white expanse. The high-altitude setting gives Koichi a subject quite different from his Kyoto temple views, replacing architectural detail with the stark geometry of a snowbound landscape. Shiga Heights later gained international recognition as a venue for the 1998 Winter Olympics, but at the time of this print it was known primarily as a ski resort and hot spring destination. The composition likely emphasizes the vast, open quality of the plateau, where snowfields stretch to distant mountain ridgelines under a heavy winter sky.