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
Flower of the Beach
Woodblock print
Japanese Seashore (97/210)
Woodblock print
Tokyo bay side Shibaura (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
Unknown, ocean view
Woodblock print
Picture of the Heike Clan Sinking and Perishing at Sea
1853, 6th lunar month
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
The Diving Woman of Shido Bay
c. 1882
Preparatory drawing for a print, ink on paper
Battle at Jinzhoucheng on the Road to Port Arthur
1894 (Meiji 27)
Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper
Entrance to the Harbor of Port Arthur, Picture of the Hard Struggle of the Battleship Hatsuse
March 1904
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Great Naval Battle at Port Arthur
March 1904
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Moonlit Sea at Kawasaki
1877
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Naval Attack on Vladivostok Harbor
April 1904
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Naval Battle between Japan and Qing off the Coast of Pungdo in Korea, Picture of the Great Victory of Our Forces
August 1894
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Our Naval Forces in the Yellow Sea Firing at And Sinking Chinese Warships
1894 (Meiji 27)
Woodblock print (nishiki-e) triptych; ink and colors on paper
Our Torpedo Hits a Russian Warship in the Great Naval Battle of Port arthur
Woodblock print
Oyashirazu Beach (Oyashirazuhama), from the series Famous Sights of Japan (Nihon meishō zue)
1897 (Meiji 30)
Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper
Picture of Our Fleet Bombarding Dalian Bay
November 1894?
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Picture of Our Forces Occupying and Landing at Rongcheng Bay
January 1895
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Picture of the Second Army's Attack on Lüshun Port
December 1894
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Triptych: 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
Illustration of the Death-Defying Squad of Captain Osawa and Seven Others from the Crew of the Warship Yaeyama Pushing Forward in Rongcheng Bay (Yaeyamakan norikumi Ôsawa taiira shichimei no kesshitai Eijôwan ni funshin suru zu)
Woodblock print
Picture of the Surrender of Port Arthur (Ryojunkô kanraku no zu)
Woodblock print
Urashima in the sea
Woodblock print
Shichirigahama Beach, Sagami Province
Woodblock print
Triptych: Port Festival Scene
Meiji period, 1890
Woodblock-printed "ōban" triptych; ink and color on paper
Seaside Farewell
Woodblock print
The Sea
1989
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Fuji from the Sea off Kazusa #30
Woodblock print
Taganoura Bay near Ejiri on the Tokaido (Tokaido Ejiri tagono ura ryakuzu), from the series Thirty-six Views of Mt. Fuji (Fugaku sanjuokkei)
Woodblock print
Kanagawa, Inland Sea: Top of the Street
1797–1858
color woodblock print
New Port (with foreign ships in background)
Woodblock print
Ama dressing her hair on a beach
Woodblock print
Boats of Hong Kong
1987
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Onomichi-Japan
1971
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Matsushima, from the series Famous Sights of Japan (Nihon meishō zue)
1896 (Meiji 29)
Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper
Kiyomigata, from the series Famous Sights of Japan (Nihon meishō zue)
1896 (Meiji 29)
Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper
Tomonoura Godowns
1930
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Honolulu
1933
Woodblock print
Sanko Island
1941
Woodblock print
Onjuku, Chiba (Chiba Onjuku)
1950
Color woodblock print
#27. Suzaki Benten
Woodblock print
#30. Tsukudajima
Woodblock print
Nakabeshima
1930
Woodblock print
Tansui
1941
Woodblock print
Sunset Over Water
1915
Color woodblock print
Abumi Promontory (Abumisaki)
Abumisaki
1950
Color woodblock print
Enoshima
Unknown
Color woodblock print
Three Little Islands
1930
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Amano-Hashidate
Woodblock print
Ki no Matsushima Islands
Woodblock print
Poem of the Horizon
13/30, 1982
Woodblock print
The Wedded Rocks of Futamigaura (Futamigaura)
1936
Color woodblock print
Engetsu Island, Shirahama (Shirahama Engetsuto)
1951
Color woodblock print
#31. Tepposu Inari
Woodblock print
Waiting for the Tide
1930
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Morning at Cape Inubo (Inubo no asa)
November 1931
Color woodblock print
Namikiri, Shima (Shima Namikiri)
1942
Color woodblock print
Lookout on cliff
Woodblock print
Miyajima
Woodblock print
Fishermen
1912
Color woodcut
#34. Kanasugibashi
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.