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
No. 19: Karuizawa, from the series "Sixty-nine Stations of the Kisokaido (Kisokaido rokujukyu tsugi no uchi)"
c. 1835/38
Color woodblock print; oban
Chofu Jewel River in Musashi Province (Musashi Chofu), from the series "Six Jewel Rivers (Mu Tamagawa no uchi)"
c. 1835/39
Color woodblock print; chutanzaku
Kanda Myojin Shrine (Kanda Myojin), from the series "Famous Views of the Eastern Capital (Toto meisho)"
c. 1835/38
Color woodblock print; chu-tanzaku
Maisaka: The Ferry at Imagiri (Maisaka, Imagiri funawatashi), from the series "Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido (Tokaido gojusan tsugi)," also known as the Tokaido with Poem (Kyoka iri Tokaido)
c. 1837/42
Color woodblock print; chuban
Votive-Picture Hall of the Shrine at Ikutama (Ikutama Ema-dō)
生玉絵馬堂
1860
Color woodblock print
Steam Train at Takanawa in Tokyo
東京高輪蒸気車
1872
Color woodblock triptych (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper
Railway Station Triptych (Sheet from JP3227)
鉄道駅図三枚続
c. 1870
Color woodblock triptych (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper
Women and Attendents by the Beach of Tanakawa
1800-10
Color woodblock print; long surimono
Ishibei, from the series "Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido (Tokaido gojusan tsugi)"
c. 1806
Color woodblock print; chuban
Kanaya, from the series "Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido (Tokaido gojusan tsugi)"
c. 1806
Color woodblock print; chuban
Kuwana, from the series "Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido (Tokaido gojusan tsugi)"
c. 1806
Color woodblock print; chuban
Maisaka, from the series "Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido (Tokaido gojusan tsugi)"
c. 1806
Color woodblock print; chuban
The Yoshiwara in Edo, from the series "Seven Courtesans (Nana yujo)"
c. 1807/08
Color woodblock print; surimono
Bird Cage and Potted Plum
1804
Color woodblock print; surimono
Young girl dancing at nobleman's mansion
1805
Color woodblock print; nagaban, surimono
Takamatsu Castle, Sanuki (Sanuki no Takamatsujō), from the series Souvenirs of Travel, Second Series (Tabi miyage dai nishū)
1921, February
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Mount Asahi seen from Mount Shirouma, from the series "Souvenirs of Travel, Third Series" (Tabi miyage dai sanshu, Shiroumadake yori mita Asahidake)
1924
Color woodblock print
Moon over Ryogoku Bridge in Summer (Natsu Ryogoku no tsuki), from the series "Famous Places in Edo in the Four Seasons (Shiki Koto meisho)"
c. 1832/34
Color woodblock print; chutanzaku
Autumn Moon at New Yoshiwara in Emonzaka (Shin Yoshiwara Emonzaka shugetsu), from the series "Famous Views of the Eastern Capital (Toto meisho)"
c. 1835/38
Color woodblock print; chu-tanzaku
Falcon on a Pine Tree with the Rising Sun
c. 1835
Color woodblock print, otanzaku
Rain at Azuma Bridge below Kinryuzan Temple in Asakusa (Asakusa Kinryuzan shita Azuma Bashi uchu bo), from the series "Famous Views of the Eastern Capital (Toto meisho)"
c. 1835/38
Color woodblock print; chu-tanzaku
Rooster, umbrella, and morning glories
1830s
Color woodblock print; otanzaku
Hamamatsu, from the series "Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido (Tokaido gojusan tsugi)," also known as the Tokaido with Poem (Kyoka iri Tokaido)
c. 1837/42
Color woodblock print; chuban
Kanbara, from the series "Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido (Tokaido gojusan tsugi)," also known as the Tokaido with Poem (Kyoka iri Tokaido)
c. 1837/42
Color woodblock print; chuban
Three (Women) Calligraphers (Sanpitsu) at a Calligraphy Reunion (Shokai)
c. 1800-10
Color woodblock print; surimono
Fuchu, from the series "Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido (Tokaido gojusan tsugi)"
c. 1806
Color woodblock print; chuban
Numatsu, from the series "Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido (Tokaido gojusan tsugi)"
c. 1806
Color woodblock print; chuban
Yoshiwara, from the series "Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido (Tokaido gojusan tsugi)"
c. 1806
Color woodblock print; chuban
Akasaka, from the series "Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido (Tokaido gojusan tsugi)"
c. 1806
Color woodblock print; chuban
Minakuchi, from the series "Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido (Tokaido gojusan tsugi)"
c. 1806
Color woodblock print; chuban
Dandelions and clovers beneath cherry tree
c. 1807
Color woodblock print; surimono
Kyoka Ehon Shokunin Kagami
1803
Woodblock printed book, original covers
Zaimoku Isalnd, Matsushima, from the series "Collection of Scenic Views of Japan, Eastern Japan Edition" (Nihon fukei shu higashi Nihon hen, Matsushima Zaimokuto)
May 1933
Color woodblock print
Mountain Temple at Sendai (Sendai yamanodera), from the series "Collection of Scenic Views of Japan, Eastern Japan Edition (Nihon fukei shu higashi Nihon hen)"
1933
Color woodblock print; oban
Evening Snow at Ishinomaki (Ishinomaki no bosetsu), from the series "Collection of Views of Japan, Eastern Japan Edition (Nihon fukei shu higashi Nihon hen)"
1935
Color woodblock print; oban
Tadotsu, Sanuki Province (Sanshu Tadotsu), from the series "Collection of Views of Japan II, Kansai Edition (Nihon fukei shu II Kansai hen)"
1936
Color woodblock print; oban
Yui: Satta Peak (Yui, Satta mine), from the series "Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido Road (Tokaido gojusan tsugi no uchi)," also known as the Hoeido Tokaido
c. 1833/34
Color woodblock print; oban
Act 11, Part 1: The Approach to the Night Attack (Juichidanme ichi, yochi oshiyose), from the series "The Revenge of the Loyal Retainers (Chushingura)"
c. 1834/39
Color woodblock print; oban
Evening Shower at the Bank of Tadasu River (Tadasugawara no yudachi), from the series "Famous Places in Kyoto (Kyoto meisho no uchi)"
c. 1834
Color woodblock print; oban
No. 47: Oi, from the series "Sixty-nine Stations of the Kisokaido (Kisokaido rokujukyu tsugi no uchi)"
c. 1835/38
Color woodblock print; oban
Crane and waves
early 1830s
Color woodblock print; otanzaku
Dragon in clouds
c. 1830s
Color woodblock print; otanzaku
Bullfinch on camellia branch
early 1830s
Color woodblock print; otanzaku
Autumn Moon at Seto (Seto shugetsu), from the series "Eight Views of Kanazawa (Kanazawa hakkei)"
c. 1835/36
Color woodblock print; oban
Mitsuke: Ferries Crossing the Tenryu River (Mitsuke, Tenryugawa funawatashi), from the series "Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido (Tokaido gojusan tsugi)," also known as the Tokaido with Poem (Kyoka iri Tokaido)
c. 1837/42
Color woodblock print; chuban
Illustration of Foreign Residences and the Catholic Church in Yokohama (Yokohama shōkan tenshudō no zu)
横浜商館天主堂之図
10th month, 1870
Triptych of woodblock prints (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper
Mitsugashira (Three Heads)
三頭
1860
Color woodblock print
The Actor Arashi Rikan III as Token Jūbei
c. 1860
Color woodblock print
Taiyū-ji Temple in Kitano, from One Hundred Views of Naniwa (Naniwa Hyakkei)
北の大融寺(浪花百景)
1860-1861
Color woodblock print
Temple of the Goddess Kishibojin at Hamamura, from One Hundred Views of Naniwa (Naniwa Hyakkei)
浜村鬼子母神(浪花百景)
1860-1861
Color woodblock print
Main Shrine of Sumiyoshi, from One Hundred Views of Naniwa (Naniwa Hyakkei)
住吉本社(浪花百景)
1860-1861
Color woodblock print
Print (Sheet of a Triptych, JP3228)
錦絵三枚続
c. 1870
Color woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper
Sumida River seen from Azuma Bridge (Azumabashi yori Sumida wo miru no zu), from a group of Western-style landscapes
c. 1800/05
Color woodblock print; aiban
The Feather Robe (Hagoromo)
19th century
Color woodblock print; long surimono
Kameyama, from the series "Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido (Tokaido gojusan tsugi)"
c. 1806
Color woodblock print; chuban
Ejiri, from the series "Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido (Tokaido gojusan tsugi)"
c. 1806
Color woodblock print; chuban
Shono, from the series "Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido (Tokaido gojusan tsugi)"
c. 1806
Color woodblock print; chuban
A turner and his assistant, from the series "Thirty-six Poets as Craftsmen (Shokunin sanjurokuban)"
1802
Color woodblock print; surimono
Ferry boat
n.d.
Color woodblock print; nagaban, surimono
Freshly-Picked Flowers in a Traveler’s Hat, illustration for "The Thousand-grasses Shell," from the series A Matching Game with Genroku-period Poem Shells (Genroku kasen kai awase)"
1821
Color woodblock print; surimono shikishiban
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.