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
Wave
2014
Acrylic on Canvas
with time III
2024
Woodblock
Veiled Light
2025
Woodblock
Gift From The Waves
2015
Kin-tsugi, ceramic shards, sea-glass, lacquer, brass powder
Sound of the Waves
2016
Woodblock
Boating parties on the Sumida River
c. 1808/12
Color woodblock print; nagaban, surimono
Boats transporting rice on the Sumida River
c. 1800/05
Color woodblock print; nagaban, surimono
Ferryboat
c. 1798
Color woodblock print
Waves of Potential Immigrants from Many Lands (Shikinamigusa)
1796
Color woodblock-printed book; 1 vol.
Sea Lane off Kazusa Province (Kazusa no kairo), from the series "Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjurokkei)"
Color woodblock print
Seashore at Nobutoura (Nobutoura), from the series "Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjurokkei)"
Color woodblock print
Arai: View of Ferryboats (Arai, watashibune no zu), from the series "Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido (Tokaido gojusan tsugi no uchi)," also known as the Hoeido Tokaido
c. 1833/34
Color woodblock print; oban
Red Seabream (Madai) and Japanese Pepper Leaves (Sanshō), from the series A Shoal of Fishes (Uozukushi)
19th century
Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper
Returning Sails at Yabase (Yabase no kihan), from the series "Eight Views of Omi (Omi hakkei no uchi)"
c. 1834
Color woodblock print; oban
Pleasures of the Four Seasons: Colors and Scents of Flowers, left (Shiki no asobi hana no iroka, ge)
c. 1783
Color woodblock print; left sheet of oban diptych
Tree in the Four Seasons
Woodblock print
![Casting a Mantra on the Waves at Kakuta on His Exile to Sado Island (Sashu rukei Kakuta nami daimoku), from the series "Concise Illustrated Biography of the Great Priest [Nichiren] (Koso go ichidai ryakuzu)" by Utagawa Kuniyoshi](https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/7861e903-25d0-c779-7382-7055de763691/full/843,/0/default.jpg)
Casting a Mantra on the Waves at Kakuta on His Exile to Sado Island (Sashu rukei Kakuta nami daimoku), from the series "Concise Illustrated Biography of the Great Priest [Nichiren] (Koso go ichidai ryakuzu)"
c. 1830/35
Color woodblock print; oban
Night scence aboard a pleasure boat
c. 1830's
Color woodblock print; shikishiban diptych, surimono
Old Man Nishimura Seated and Holding the Hochi Newspaper
1875
Woodblock print
Osame, a Concubine of the Lord of Sendai Fief, Learning Courtesanship
1886
Woodblock print
The Boatman Zhang Heng
1868, 8th lunar month
Preparatory drawing for a print, ink and color on paper
Sail Boat
1923
Dry point
![A Boat Laden with Masonry, Awa Province (Ishizumu fune [Boshu]), from the series "Souvenirs of Travel, First Series (Tabi miyage dai isshu)" by Kawase Hasui](https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/1d1e45a7-2153-e530-e16e-4ea11472525c/full/843,/0/default.jpg)
A Boat Laden with Masonry, Awa Province (Ishizumu fune [Boshu]), from the series "Souvenirs of Travel, First Series (Tabi miyage dai isshu)"
Ishizumu fune [Boshu]
1920
Color woodblock print; oban
Seasonal (B)
1970
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Spring, from the series "Four Seasons"
1961
Hand-colored woodblock print
Skin Ship (B)
Woodblock print
Searing Blast
1993
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
BOYS PULLING TOY SHIP
Woodblock print
The Four Seasons
2019
Mokuhanga (suite of 4 woodblock prints)
SAILING BOATS
1915
Woodblock print
Bijin on pleasure boat in rain storm
Woodblock print
The Bat-Wing Sail
1920s
MIDORINOKISETSU D (Green season D)
Woodblock print
Bijin on red seat
1960
Woodblock print
Sailboat
1900
Drawing
Seated Javanese Dancer, 1933
1933
Woodblock print
Full Season
Woodblock print
Flirting Waves (Nami no Tawamure)
波の戯れ
Woodblock print with embossing
Woman in a Boat — 舟の中
Not set
Woodblock print
Four Seasons
2019
Mokuhanga (woodblock print)
![Seasons of the Pleasure Quarters: no. 1, Nanchi in Autumn, After a Bath (Kuruwa no shunju: Dai-ichi Aki [Nanchi], Yuagari) by Kitano Tsunetomi](https://data.ukiyo-e.org/scholten/images/77c8c0768e8e56503ceb1911d1b8027c.jpg)
Seasons of the Pleasure Quarters: no. 1, Nanchi in Autumn, After a Bath (Kuruwa no shunju: Dai-ichi Aki [Nanchi], Yuagari)
Woodblock print
![Seasons of the Pleasure Quarters: no. 2, Shinmachi in Spring, During a Lesson (Kuruwa no shunju: Dai-ni haru [Shinmachi] Keiko no ma) by Kitano Tsunetomi](https://data.ukiyo-e.org/scholten/images/045bf93015ff6c7c8a10708e1c8b2369.jpg)
Seasons of the Pleasure Quarters: no. 2, Shinmachi in Spring, During a Lesson (Kuruwa no shunju: Dai-ni haru [Shinmachi] Keiko no ma)
Woodblock print
No Series Shadow Of A Boat
Woodblock print
Changing Seasons
Not dated
Woodblock print
Fukakusayama- Treasure Ship — 宝舟・ふかくさ山
Woodblock print
Friendship
Contemporary.
Woodblock print
Unknown A Seated Girl Under a Tree with Fruit
Woodblock print
Arrival of Portuguese Ship, Shôwa period, dated 1952
Woodblock print
Dutch ship
Woodblock print
Inland Sea
Woodblock print
Funny boating
Etching
Church and Boats
Woodblock Print
Treasure Ship
before 1973
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Seagulls - カモメ (1)
Woodblock print
Black Boy Seated on A Chair
Woodblock print
Sails
Woodblock print
Afternoon, from the series "Sailboat Boats"
1926
Color woodblock print
Seated Nude
Not set
Woodblock print
Untitled, Swallows and waves
Woodblock print
Insects, from Signs of Seasons
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.