Inland Sea
by Takao Sano
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Image courtesy of
- Ukiyo-e Search
Description
The Seto Inland Sea has been a recurring subject in Japanese landscape art, prized for its sheltered waters, scattered pine-covered islands, and distinctive atmospheric haze. This print likely presents a panoramic or broadly horizontal composition — calm water broken by islands in the middle and far distance, with open sky above. The subject is well suited to woodblock's capacity for flat, luminous areas of color, and Sano may have used multiple gradated blocks to render the soft tonalities of sea and sky. The imagery draws on a long tradition of meisho-e depicting famous scenic locales, situating the print within the broader vocabulary of Japanese landscape printmaking.
More Prints by Takao Sano
More Landscapes Prints
Lake Kugushi in Wakasa Province (Wakasa Kugushiko), from the series Souvenirs of Travel I (Tabi miyage dai isshu)"
Wakasa Kugushiko
1920
Color woodblock print; oban
Autumn Maple Leaves at Takao, from the album Eight Views of Kyoto (Kyôto hakkei)
Woodblock print
The Beach at Kaiganji in Sanuki Province (Sanuki Kaiganji no hama), from the series "Collection of Views of Japan II, Kansai Edition (Nihon fukei shu II Kansai hen)"
1934
Color woodblock print; oban
Tea Kettle, section of a sheet from the series "Mirror of Stone Rubbings of Views of the Provinces" (Kohon meihitsu ishizuri kagami)
n.d.
Woodblock print; ishizuri-e, section of harimaze sheet
Featured in Collections
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Frequently Asked Questions
Inland Sea was created by Takao Sano (佐野隆男).
Inland Sea depicts landscapes and seascapes.