Snow Scenes Prints (870)
Snow scenes (yuki no keshiki) hold a special place in Japanese woodblock printmaking as one of the tradition's most technically demanding and aesthetically prized subjects. The challenge of depicting whiteness — using the paper itself as the primary "color" for snow — required exceptional planning from the artist and virtuosic restraint from the printer, who had to leave precise areas of the block unprinted while building up surrounding tones. Hiroshige's snow scenes, particularly in "One Hundred Famous Views of Edo" and the "Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido," established the visual vocabulary of the genre: falling flakes rendered as white spaces against dark skies, snow-laden branches bowing under crystalline weight, and human figures hunched against winter cold. His ability to convey the hush and stillness of a snow-covered landscape through the woodblock medium influenced every subsequent generation of printmakers. Kawase Hasui made snow scenes a signature specialty, producing dozens of views that are among shin-hanga's most sought-after images. His prints of temple gates, mountain villages, and riverside scenes under fresh snowfall achieve a crystalline clarity and contemplative calm that epitomize the movement's aesthetic. The technical achievement of these prints — particularly the subtle blue and gray gradations surrounding areas of pure white paper — represents some of the highest accomplishments of the woodblock printing craft.
Artists Known for Snow Scenes
A frosty morning at Nagaoka in Izu Peninsula
Woodblock print
Boat Snow
Woodblock print
Urasa Shibu. A winter festival in Echigo
Woodblock print
Winter Forest I, Shôwa period, circa 1967-1968
Woodblock print
Four Seasons: Winter (Shiki: Fuyu)
Woodblock print
Five Storied Pagoda in Winter
Not set
Woodblock print
Kasuga Shrine in winter — 春日神社
circa 1950-1970
Woodblock print
Rice Planting
Not set
Woodblock print
Winter Mansion
n.d.
Color woodblock print
Bijin in a Snow Covered Temple Garden
Woodblock print
Winter chrysanthemums
Woodblock print
The divine power of Fudo and the novice Yuten
Woodblock print
Northern Winter - 北方の冬
Woodblock print
Planting rice
Woodblock print
Rice Harvest
Woodblock print
Rice paddy
Woodblock print
Rice Reaping
Woodblock print
Rice Weeding- Variant 1
Woodblock print
Unknown, ploughing ricefield
Woodblock print
Unknown, rice planting
Woodblock print
Kites in Winter
Woodblock print
Flowers in Vase (Winter)
Woodblock print
Rice Weeding
Woodblock print
Light Snow in Bulrush Field
Woodblock print
Suzhou Scenery - Winter
Woodblock print
Early Winter in Gotenba
1981–86
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
A Walk in the Snow
Woodblock print
Asakusa Kannon in the Snow
Woodblock print
Castle in Snow
Woodblock print
Clear Weather after Snow at the Asakusa Kannon Temple
Woodblock print
Clearing after a snowfall at Sekiyado
Woodblock print
Clearing Sky after Snow, Kannon Temple, Asakusa (Asakusa Kannon no yukibare), from the series Twenty Views of Tokyo (Tôkyô nijûkei)
Woodblock print
Collection of scenic views of Japan, eastern Japan edition: Snow at Godaido Temple in Matsushima (Nihon fukei shu higashi Nihon hen: Matsushima Godaido no yuki)
Woodblock print
Hatagoh, Early Winter
1980
Etching
Rice Harvesting Scene
1980
Etching
Grand Canal, Venice (with clouds)
ca. 1921
Ponte S. Paternina, Venice (no. 24)
1920s
A Winter Day
1988, unlimited
Woodblock print
Winter (Fuyu)
1957
Color woodblock print
Ducks in Winter
Woodblock print
Torii Gate in Winter
Woodblock print
MAIKO (Winter)
Woodblock print
Geisha Girl in Winter
Woodblock print
This is a mokuhanga print of a a frozen waterfall, called Hossawa Falls.
Blue Snow
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Ginkakuji in Snow
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Kanjuji in Snow
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
The First Snow of the Year
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Kinkakuji in Snow
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Kiyomizudera in Snow
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Lake side in Snow (Mt.Bandai)
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Playing in the Snow
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Spring Snow
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Heaps of Snow
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Snow in Those Good Old Days
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Village in Snow
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Garden in Snow
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Snow Field Dream 293
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Snow Symphony 265
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Williams- Snow Garden
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Related Subjects
Frequently Asked Questions
Snow scenes (yuki no keshiki) hold a special place in Japanese woodblock printmaking as one of the tradition's most technically demanding and aesthetically prized subjects. The challenge of depicting whiteness — using the paper itself as the primary "color" for snow — required exceptional planning from the artist and virtuosic restraint from the printer, who had to leave precise areas of the block unprinted while building up surrounding tones.
Kawase Hasui, Kobayashi Kiyochika, and Takahashi Shotei are among the artists most associated with snow scenes in our collection. Browse the full list of artists who explored this subject above.
Hanga currently catalogues 870 prints tagged with snow scenes, spanning ukiyo-e, shin-hanga, and sōsaku-hanga traditions where applicable.