Seascapes Prints (797)
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
Coast
20th century
Color woodblock print
Sea and Moon
1961
East of the Sea, Shôwa period, circa 1960s
Woodblock print
Feast of the Sea (Umi no kyoen)
Woodblock print
Sea Stone (Umi no ishi)
20th century
Color woodblock print; edition 26/50
True Pictures of Famous Places in Tokyo: Off the Coast at Shinagawa
Woodblock print
True Pictures of Famous Places in Tokyo: The Sea off Omori
Woodblock print
Wave Cloud
Woodblock print
Dawn of Naruto
Woodblock print
Bird on seashore
Woodblock print
A woman sauntering on a beach by moonlight
Woodblock print
Fishboat on Moonlit Sea
Woodblock print
Moonlit Beach Scene- V1
Woodblock print
Sunset on Suruga bay
Woodblock print
Night in the Harbor (Minato no yoru)
Minato no yoru
1938
Color woodblock print; oban
Sailing Boats: Afternoon (Hansen, gogo), from the series "Seto Inland Sea (Seto Naikai shu)"
Hansen, gogo
1926
Color woodblock print
Sailing Boats: Evening (Hansen, yu), from the series "Seto Inland Sea (Seto Naikai shu)"
Hansen, yu
1926
Color woodblock print
Sailing Boats: Fog (Hansen, kiri), from the series "Seto Inland Sea (Seto Naikai shu)"
Hansen, kiri
1926
Color woodblock print
Sailing Boats: Forenoon (Hansen, gozen), from the series "Seto Inland Sea (Seto Naikai shu)"
Hansen, gozen
1926
Color woodblock print
Warehouses at Tomonoura, from the series "Inland Sea (Seto naikai)"
Seto naikai
1930
Color woodblock print
Junks on the Inland Sea
1908
Color woodcut
Fishing Boats on Beach (N0. 2)
Woodblock print
Kyoto Port Festival — 神戸港祭
Woodblock print
Seaside Village
Woodblock print
Sea: Evening Calm, Shôwa period, dated 1964
Shôwa period, 1926-1989
Woodblock print
Sea in April
30/50, 1977
Woodblock print
Song of Wave 2
Not set
Woodblock print
Harbor Elegy
1956
Color woodblock print
Song of the Seashore (Hamabe no uta)
1957
Color woodblock print
Mer (Sea)
1961
Letter from Mediterranean Sea
Woodblock print
Woman & Sea
1970
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Bijin on sea shore
Woodblock print
Seashore #3
Woodblock print
Seto Naikai- Seto Inland Sea
Woodblock print
Minoguchi Harbor
Woodblock print
Afterglow at Shirahama Beach
Woodblock print
Sea Breeze
1938
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Swallow over the Ocean Wave
description
Woodblock print
Inatori Bay in Izu
1926
Color woodblock print; oban
Amidst the Ocean
Woodblock print
Moon from a Harbor
Woodblock print
Sunset at Tomonotsu, Inland Sea
Woodblock print
Squall over the Ocean
1936
Woodblock print
Illusion of the Sea (Umi no Genso)
1950
Color woodblock print
Fairy Tale of the Sea
Woodblock print
Image No. 8: Photograph of the Family at Sea
1952
Woodblock and paper print
Myth (Expression of the Sea)
1946
Woodblock print; ink and colors printed on paper; with artist’s stamp reading "Onzi" impressed in black ink within the image (in the lower left corner)
The Sea (Umi)
1937
Color woodblock print; triptych
Umi no dowa (Fairy-tale of the Sea)
Woodblock print
Ocean View of Ohara
1927
Color woodblock print
View of Mountain Range in Kyushu from the Sea of Amakusa (Kyushu renzan Amakusa-nada yori
1940
Woodblock print
Christ and Disciples on Sea of Galilee(?)
Woodblock print
Crossing of the Red Sea
Woodblock print
Egyptians Drowning in the Red Sea
Woodblock print
Jesus walking on the sea
1967
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Eijiri: Shimizu Port
Woodblock print
Sea Child
1948
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
White Beach
Woodblock print
Disinfection at the Port
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 797 prints tagged with seascapes, spanning ukiyo-e, shin-hanga, and sōsaku-hanga traditions where applicable.