Seascapes Prints (735)
Seascape prints capture Japan's extensive coastline, harbors, and maritime culture through the woodblock medium. As an island nation with thousands of miles of coastline, Japan's relationship with the sea has been a natural subject for printmakers from the earliest days of ukiyo-e to contemporary practice. Hokusai's "The Great Wave off Kanagawa" (c. 1831) is perhaps the single most recognized image in all of Japanese art, and its dynamic depiction of ocean power set a standard for seascape composition that artists have responded to for nearly two centuries. Hiroshige's coastal views in the "Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji" and various province series established a more contemplative approach to maritime subjects, emphasizing harbor activities, fishing villages, and the sea's changing moods across seasons. Shin-hanga artists brought atmospheric refinement to seascape subjects. Hiroshi Yoshida's sailing vessel prints and Kawase Hasui's coastal views combined Western-influenced light observation with traditional Japanese compositional principles. The woodblock technique proves particularly suited to seascapes, as the bokashi (gradient) technique creates convincing atmospheric depth while the grain of the woodblock itself can suggest the texture of water surfaces.
Artists Known for Seascapes
Ferry boat for Samurai, farmers, artisans and merchants
Woodblock print
Oiseau Dans Les Fleurs
1962
Etching with color
Peacock (oiseau dans l'eau)
1968
Etching
Two Female Bathers, One Kneeling and Giving Herself a Pedicure, One Seated and Looking at Her Reflection in a Mirror, Taishô period, dated 1918 (7th month of Taishô 9)
Taishô period, 1912-1926
Woodblock print
Woman Seated on a Pillow Before a Low Dressing Table, Taishô period, dated 1918 (7th month of Taishô 9)
Taishô period, 1912-1926
Woodblock print
Kinokunisaka in the Rainy Season
紀国坂 梅雨
1938
Color woodblock print
Spring (Four Seasons of Lemons)
Woodblock print and silkscreen
The Water Lily Season
1959
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Waterlily Season, Shôwa period, dated 1959
Woodblock print
The Sun is Longing for the Sea
Photography
Seated Woman
1936
Woodblock print
Autumn Season
Woodblock print
Takahama Port on the Inland Sea — せとないかい 高濱港
Woodblock print
Annual Edo Customs: Tenth Month, Prosperous Merchants Worship the God of Wealth
Woodblock print
Mitate No.16 - Boat (Fune)
1999
Mitate No.78 - Seat (Za)
2006
Japanese Warship, Sinking Qing Ship
August 1894
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Nobleman Boating
Woodblock print
Safety on the Seas
Woodblock print
Capriccio of the Four Seasons No. 3
1996
Woodblock Print
Child of the Sea, Shôwa period, dated 1940
Woodblock print
Tokyo West-Baiu (Rainy season) (One Hundred Views of Tokyo, Message to the 21st Century 東京百景 21世紀へのメッセジ)
1989-99
Color woodblock print
Urouro-bune (Aimless boats) / Nippon banzai hyakusen hyakusho (Hurrah for Japan! One Hundred Selections, One Hundred Laughs)
Woodblock print
Korean Statue of a Seated Bodhisattva, Shôwa period,
Woodblock print
Tugboat
Woodblock print
Feast in the Seabed
1951
Mezzotint, soft-ground etching, engraving
“The Four Seasons” by Marc Chagall, from the series "Viva Chicago"
1997
Mezzotint
Boats
1891
Silk
Sailboat
Woodblock print
Shadow on the Waves
1971
Color woodblock print
Two Mechanics of the Warship Matsushima …
August 1895
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
The Seabed
1965
Oil on panel
Kyosai, Royal Academy, London, FREE DOMESTIC SHIPPING
2022
Original Museum Lithographic Exhibition Poster
Boats Moored at Piers
Woodblock print
Sailor Third Class Nishikawa Hatsutarō of the Warship Katsuragi
May 1895
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Repelling the Mongol Pirate Ships (Môko zokusen taiji no zu)
Woodblock print
Rainy Season, from the series Scenes of the Season
1956
Hand-colored woodblock print
A Ferry Boat- large size
Woodblock print
Cherry Blossoms and boat
Woodblock print
Sailboat at Miyajima
Woodblock print
Rainy Season at Ryoshimachi, Shinagawa
Woodblock print
Sailboat at Yashima
Woodblock print
The Sea at Boshu
Woodblock print
Bijin in a boat with a Biwa
1897
Woodblock print
On the Boat — 舟中
Not set
Woodblock print
Treasure Ship, Goddess of all Animals (4/50)
Woodblock print
Treasure Ship, Goddess of Earth (AP)
Woodblock print
Inland Sea
Woodblock print
Pacific Ocean, Böshü
Woodblock print
Seasonal Poem (2)
1999
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Black Ship
2012
Woodblock
Changing Seasons
2017
Etching and chine colle
Souvenirs of Travel, Third Series: Pacific Ocean, Boshu (Tabi miyage dai sanshu: Boshu Taikai)
Woodblock print
The Japanese Navy Sinks Chinese Destroyers in the Yellow Sea (Waga kantai Kôkai ni oite shikan o shizumeru no zu), Meiji period, dated 1894
Woodblock print
Great Victory for the Japanese Navy in the Yellow Sea, Image 4 (Kôkai ni okeru waga gun no Taishô: Dai yon zu), Meiji period, dated 1894
Woodblock print
Sailboat on ocean
Woodblock print
Stone Carrying Boat, Awa — 石積む舟
Woodblock print
Small Boat in a Spring Shower
Woodblock print
Boat
Woodblock print
A scheme to save the Russian fleet when Japanese torpedo boats come
Woodblock print
Related Subjects
Frequently Asked Questions
Seascape prints capture Japan's extensive coastline, harbors, and maritime culture through the woodblock medium. As an island nation with thousands of miles of coastline, Japan's relationship with the sea has been a natural subject for printmakers from the earliest days of ukiyo-e to contemporary practice.
Kawase Hasui, Kobayashi Kiyochika, and Hiroshi Yoshida are among the artists most associated with seascapes in our collection. Browse the full list of artists who explored this subject above.
Hanga currently catalogues 735 prints tagged with seascapes, spanning ukiyo-e, shin-hanga, and sōsaku-hanga traditions where applicable.