Landscapes Prints (3812)
Landscapes are the most celebrated subject in Japanese woodblock printmaking, encompassing mountain vistas, coastal panoramas, river valleys, and rural scenes that have defined the genre for centuries. The tradition reached its first peak with Hokusai's "Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji" (1831) and Hiroshige's "Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido" (1833-34), series that established the meisho-e (famous places) format as a cornerstone of ukiyo-e. Shin-hanga artists of the early twentieth century, particularly Kawase Hasui and Hiroshi Yoshida, reinvented the landscape tradition by combining Western atmospheric effects with Japanese compositional sensibilities. Hasui's snow scenes and twilight views of rural Japan became iconic, while Yoshida's mountain studies introduced plein-air observation techniques unprecedented in woodblock printing. Sosaku-hanga artists like Toshi Yoshida and Shiro Kasamatsu further expanded the landscape vocabulary through personal expression and experimental color palettes. Japanese landscape prints typically emphasize seasonal atmosphere, weather conditions, and the interplay between human presence and natural grandeur. The use of bokashi (graduated color) and multiple impression techniques creates depth and luminosity that distinguish woodblock landscapes from other printmaking traditions.
Artists Known for Landscapes
Bikuni Bridge in Snow (Bikunibashi setchu), from the series "One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (Meisho Edo hyakkei)"
Color woodblock print
Kanasugi Bridge at Shibaura (Kanasugibashi Shibaura), from the series "One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (Meisho Edo hyakkei)"
Color woodblock print
Furukawa River, Hiroo (Hiroo Furukawa), from the series "One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (Meisho Edo hyakkei)"
Color woodblock print
View of Tsukuda Island from Eitai Bridge (Eitaibashi Tsukudajima), from the series "One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (Meisho Edo hyakkei)"
Color woodblock print
Ayase River and Kanegafuchi (Ayasegawa Kanegafuchi), from the series "One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (Meisho Edo hyakkei)"
Color woodblock print
New Fuji, Meguro (Meguro, Shin Fuji), from the series One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (Meisho Edo hyakkei)
Color woodblock print
Ryogoku Ekoin and Moto-Yanagi Bridge (Ryogoku Ekoin Moto-Yanagibashi), from the series "One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (Meisho Edo hyakkei)"
Color woodblock print
Sumiyoshi Festival at Tsukuda Island (Tsukudajima Sumiyoshi no matsuri), from the series "One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (Meisho Edo hyakkei)"
Color woodblock print
Distant View of Azuma Bridge and Kinryuzan Temple (Azumabashi Kinryuzan enbo), from the series "One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (Meisho Edo hyakkei)"
Color woodblock print
Yosooi of the Matsubaya, from the series Selections from Six Houses in Yoshiwara (Seiro rokkasen) (Matsubaya Yosooi)
c. 1801/02
Color woodblock print; oban
Pipe, from the series Ten Types in the Physiognomic Study of Women (Fujin sogaku juttai) (Kiseru)
Woodblock print
Ten Types of Female Physiognomy (Fujin sôgaku jittai) : An Interesting Face (Omoshiroki sô)
Woodblock print
The Greatest Beauties of Our Time (Toji zensei bijin zoroe): Somenosuke of the Matsubaya with Attendants Wakagi and Wakaba
Woodblock print
Kansanomiya Shrine at Tazawa Lake (Tazawako Kansanomiyagu), from the series "Souvenirs of Travel, Third Series (Tabi miyage dai sanshu)"
Tazawako Kansanomiyagu
1927
Color woodblock print; oban
Snow at the Shin Bridge, Nikko (Nikko Shinkyo no yuki)
Nikko Shinkyo no yuki
1930; edition:178/350
Color woodblock print; Oban
Resembling a Branch (Eda ni utsusu), from the series The Appearance of Upper-Class Women of the Edo Period (Tokugawa jidai kifujin no sugata) -- Woman with a Doll
Meiji period, dated October 10, 1896
Woodblock print in "ōban" format; ink and color on paper
Sukiya Bridge, from the series Recollections of Tokyo
1930
Color woodblock print
Fuji 87
150/200, 1999
Woodblock print
A Nocturnal Fuji, Lake Ashino (Ashino no yu Fuji)
Ashino no yu Fuji
1935
Color woodblock print
Rising Moon at Katase River
Woodblock print
Spring Rain at Benkei Bridge
April 1936
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Morning at Mt. Fuji (Fuji no Asa)
Fuji no Asa
1936
Color woodblock print
Scene of a Farm by a River
Woodblock print
The River of Waterfalls at Oji (Oji Takinogawa), from the series "One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (Meisho Edo hyakkei)"
Color woodblock print
The Hall of Thirty-Three Bays at Fukagawa (Fukagawa Sanjusangendo), from the series "One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (Meisho Edo hyakkei)"
Color woodblock print
The Five Pines on the Onagi River (Onagigawa Gohonmatsu), from the series "One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (Meisho Edo hyakkei)"
Color woodblock print
Akasaka, Fujikawa, Okazaki, Chiryu, and Narumi, from the series "Famous Places on the Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido, Five Stations (Tokaido gojusan eki goshuku meisho)"
c. 1830/35
Color woodblock print; oban
Tsukuda Island (Tsukudajima), from the series "Famous Places in the Eastern Capital (Toto meisho)"
c. 1832/33
Color woodblock print; oban
Geisha Standing on the Bank of the Sumida River (from the series People Who Like the Latest Fashions and Manners)
early 1830s
color woodblock print
Hayakawa Ayunosuke Damming the Ayukawa River in Order to Strand Fish in the Open Fields
Woodblock print
Hako-O Maru (Soga Goro as a Boy) near Waterfall, Writing Bonji Characters on a Rock, While Holding up an Statue of the God Fudo with one Hand.
Woodblock print
Roben Waterfall at Mount Oyama (Oyama Roben no taki)
c. 1818/20
Color woodblock prints; oban triptych
![Casting a Mantra on the Waves at Kakuta on His Exile to Sado Island (Sashu rukei Kakuta nami daimoku), from the series "Concise Illustrated Biography of the Great Priest [Nichiren] (Koso go ichidai ryakuzu)" by Utagawa Kuniyoshi](https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/7861e903-25d0-c779-7382-7055de763691/full/843,/0/default.jpg)
Casting a Mantra on the Waves at Kakuta on His Exile to Sado Island (Sashu rukei Kakuta nami daimoku), from the series "Concise Illustrated Biography of the Great Priest [Nichiren] (Koso go ichidai ryakuzu)"
c. 1830/35
Color woodblock print; oban
Discomfiture of Benkei on Gojo Bridge by Yoshitsune, assisted by the Tengu
Woodblock print
Enjoying the evening cool under a bridge.
Woodblock print
In the Snow at Tsukahara, Sado Island
c. 1835–36
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Kanchkotsuritsu Shuki, bare-chested and tattooed, on a balcony overlooking a river. In his bow, a humming-bulb arrow containing a secret message.
Woodblock print
Koman swimming, with the Minamoto banner in Lake Biwa, is attacked by Sanemori in a Taira barge.
Woodblock print
Kwanu Destroying the Seven Armies of Gi (Wei) in a Great River Battle
Woodblock print
Nitta Tadatsune Encounters the Goddess of Mt. Fuji and Her Dragon in Her Cave on Mt. Fuji.
Woodblock print
Spirit of a Faithful Wife in a Waterfall
1892
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Takashi Bay
1863, 5th lunar month
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Fujinami Yukarinosuke
1867
New Waterfall at Hienoyama
1860s
Preparatory drawing for a print, ink and color on paper
Preparatory drawing for the left and right sheets of Picture of the Gojō Bridge from the Chronicle of Yoshitsune
c. 1881
Preparatory drawing for a print, ink on paper
The Diving Woman of Shido Bay
c. 1882
Preparatory drawing for a print, ink on paper
The Moon over Gojo Bridge (Gojo no tsuki), from the series "Heroes for the Snow, Moon, and Flowers (Buyu setsugekka)"
1867
Color woodblock print; oban diptych
Top: Cheerful Foxes at the Mimeguri Shrine on the Banks of the Sumida River; Bottom: A famous jockey at Shōkonsha
January 1881
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Yoshitsune and Benkei on the Gojō Bridge
March 1886
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Moon of Kintoki's Mountain
October 1890
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
By Request, Picture of Fujiwara Yasumasa Playing the Flute by Moonlight, a Painting Shown at the Exhibition for the Advancement of Painting in Autumn 1882
February 1883
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Fujiwara no Yasumasa Playing His Flute in the Moonlight
About 1883
Color woodblock print; ōban triptych
Mountain Stream, Shôwa period, dated 1956
Woodblock print
By the Lake (湖边)
湖边
1998
Multi-block woodcut print; water-soluble ink on paper
Chikugo River
Woodblock print
Sacred Bridge
Woodblock print
Night on the Opposite Shore - Moonlit
Woodcut
Benkei Bridge
Woodblock print
Kegon Waterfall
Woodblock print
Late Fall at Imai Bridge
Woodblock print
Related Subjects
Frequently Asked Questions
Landscapes are the most celebrated subject in Japanese woodblock printmaking, encompassing mountain vistas, coastal panoramas, river valleys, and rural scenes that have defined the genre for centuries. The tradition reached its first peak with Hokusai's "Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji" (1831) and Hiroshige's "Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido" (1833-34), series that established the meisho-e (famous places) format as a cornerstone of ukiyo-e.
Utagawa Hiroshige, Kawase Hasui, and Hiroshi Yoshida are among the artists most associated with landscapes in our collection. Browse the full list of artists who explored this subject above.
Hanga currently catalogues 3812 prints tagged with landscapes, spanning ukiyo-e, shin-hanga, and sōsaku-hanga traditions where applicable.