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
Chapter 13 - Akashi
Woodblock print
Print 5 - Akashi - 明石
Woodblock print
Stingray
Woodblock print
Night on the Opposite Shore - Moonlit
Woodcut
Tojinbo Cliff
Woodblock print
Akashi
Woodblock print
Yui Satsuta Touge
Woodblock print
Izu Nantan
Woodblock print
Kanzeon and Dolphin (AP)
Woodblock print
La Peche Miraculeuse. Izu, Japon (The Miraculous Catch. Izu, Japan)
1939
Woodblock print
Suma
Woodblock print
Young Lady and Seashell
Woodblock print
Portugese arriving in Nagasaki
Woodblock print
Cape - A
January 1963
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Wakura Watatsuki
Woodblock print
Song of the Sea
Color woodcut
In the Fold of the Sea
Japanese woodcut (mokuhanga)
Port Darwin - Reflecting Stokes, 1839
Mokuhanga on washi
Harbour Squall
Mokuhanga on washi
Window Open to the Sea (Ichimoku-shu)
Woodblock print
Little Harbour
Woodblock print
At the Beach
Woodblock print
New Port (with Foreign Ships)
Woodblock print
Tsukudajima
Woodblock print
True Pictures of Famous Places in Tokyo: Susaki
Woodblock print
Looking at the Sea (bobalicón)
2009
Woodcut
West Beach by Eva Pietzcker - Davidson Galleries
West Beach (large) by Eva Pietzcker - Davidson Galleries
La Peche Miraculeuse, Izu Japon
Woodblock print
Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia
Woodblock print
Barge Pool (Hashike damari)
Woodblock print
Port of Call 1
1991
Lithograph
Sea Urchin
2012
Woodblock
1 Heimweh nach dem Meer - Longing for the sea 2 Sunken status 3 An impossible passage
2023
Photopolymer, Other
Chinkon-Ha Repose of Souls Wave
2016
Ink on Paper
Old Sea (from the Illustrated Poetry Book 'The Song of Maldoror')
1951
Aquatint and etching
Beach at High Noon
Woodblock Print
Wave
2024
Watercolour
By the Light of the Sea
2009
Woodblock
Bay
2011
Woodcut, mokuhanga woodblock, watercolor, wax
Under The Wave
2024
Hi-Rnd Print on Coated Paper
Views of Osaka: Harbour (Moonlit Night)
1919
Lithograph
Sea Maiden
2026
2026 Unique, Drypoint and relief print on Japanese paper H43 x W36 cm (framed dimensions)
Sea Swimmer
2026
2026 Unique, Drypoint and relief print on Japanese paper H43 x W36 cm (framed dimensions)
Scene on the beach
1970
Lithograph in colours on wove
The Invisible Sea (Naval Hill)
2024
Mokuhanga woodblock print
The Goat Trail, Black's Beach: Golden Sunlight
2021
Japanese Woodblock Print
The Goat Trail, Black's Beach: Moonrise
2021
Japanese Woodblock Print
The Steps at Black's Beach: Moonlight
2020
Color woodblock print
The Steps at Black's Beach: Sunset
2020
Color woodblock print
City Sea
Mokuhanga on tulip wood
GO:SEA
2022
Mokuhanga on two wooden panels
Sea Change
2017
Pastel on paper
Photo Respiration From the Sea #347 Hattachi
1998
Archival pigment print
Photo Respiration From the Sea Kushimoto #1
2016
Archival pigment print
Photo Respiration From the Sea Kushimoto #4
2016
Archival pigment print
Mail from the Sea
Woodcut and etching in colors
Seaside
1967
Woodblock Print
Seaside
1967
Woodblock print
Sea (Hawk)
2017
Newspaper, Ink Stick, Acrylic Paint
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.