Snow Scenes Prints (1012)
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
Unknown, snow scene
Woodblock print
Snowy Night, Tokyo (Nuit de Neige, Tokyo)
1939
Color woodblock print
Snow on Temple Roofs
Woodblock print
Giant Snow Cat
Woodblock print
Matsumoto Castle in the Snow (Yuki no Matsumoto-jo), Shôwa period,
Shôwa period, 1926-1989
Woodblock print
Flowers: Onoe Kikugoro III, from an untitled series of actors representing snow, moon, and flowers
c. 1830s
Color woodblock print; shikishiban, surimono
Snow scene
Woodblock print
In the Snow, Nakayama-shichiri Road, Hida, from the series "Souvenirs of Travel, Third Series" (Tabi miyage dai sanshu, Hida Nakayama-shichiri)
1924
Color woodblock print
Snow at a Guest House Overlooking a Pond, from an untitled series of views of the Mitsubishi villa in Fukagawa
1920
Color woodblock print; oban
Snow at Kiyomizu Hall, Ueno (Ueno Kiyomizudo no yuki)
Ueno Kiyomizudo no yuki
1929
Color woodblock print; oban
Snow at the Shin Bridge, Nikko (Nikko Shinkyo no yuki)
Nikko Shinkyo no yuki
1930; edition:178/350
Color woodblock print; Oban
Snow at Zojoji Temple (Yuki no Zojoji)
Yuki no Zojoji
1929
Color woodblock print; oban
Snow at Mukojima (Yuki no Mukojima)
Yuki no Mukojima
December 1931
Color woodblock print
Fuji in snow
Woodblock print
![Spring Snow at Kiyomizu Temple, Kyoto (Haru no yuki [Kyoto Kiyomizu]) by Kawase Hasui](https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/07f4e5b6-3545-ecef-6d04-6f5741e62c38/full/843,/0/default.jpg)
Spring Snow at Kiyomizu Temple, Kyoto (Haru no yuki [Kyoto Kiyomizu])
Haru no yuki [Kyoto Kiyomizu]
April, 1932
Color woodblock print; oban
The Inokashira Benten Shrine in Snow (Shato no yuki)
Shato no yuki
1929
Color woodblock print; oban
Bijin in Snow - 雪中美人
Woodblock print
Snow at the Power Generator- Oka Shikanosuke — 雪の発電所（岡鹿之助）
Woodblock print
Snow in Matsushima — Matsushima Godaido no Yuki
Woodblock print
Snow landscape
Woodblock print
Snow Scene
Woodblock print
snowy farm landscape
Woodblock print
snowy river scene
Woodblock print
Unknown, snow scene 2
Woodblock print
Unknown, snowy hut
Woodblock print
Unknown, snowy street
Woodblock print
Unknown, snowy village- Yaizunohara
Woodblock print
Eight Views of Omi: Evening Snow at Hira
近江八景 比良の暮雪
1917
Color woodblock print
Snow Hood
1950
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper with mica
Hawk on Snowy Branch
雪中の鷹
c. 1920
Color woodblock print
Heron in Snow
雪中の白鷺
c. 1920
Color woodblock print
After Snow at Mt Asama
Woodblock print
Snow at Shiba Zojoji Temple
芝増上寺の雪
c. 1920
Color woodblock print
Snow on the Tokaido
東海道の雪
c. 1930
Color woodblock print
Snowfall at Edo River
江戸川の雪
c. 1924
Color woodblock print
Red Gate at Hongo in Snow
Woodblock print
Snow at Yomei Gate
Woodblock print
Snow at Yomei Gate, Nikko
日光陽明門の雪
1952
Color woodblock print
Zojoji Temple in Snow
増上寺の雪
1953
Woodblock print
Snow
雪
1929
Color woodblock print
In the Snow (2)
Woodblock print
Snow ball B
Woodblock print
Snow Figure (Yuki no zo)
1958
Color woodblock print
Snow and Wild Pigeons (first edition)
Woodblock print
Dancing Figure (Snow Camellia)
Woodblock print
Snow Camellia, LE
Woodblock print
By the Lake in Snow (Kohan no Yuki)
Woodblock print
Man looking at snow
Woodblock print
Amanohashidate in Snow (Yuki no Hashidate), from the series "Souvenirs of Travel, Second Series (Tabi miyage dai nishu)"
1921
Color woodblock print; oban
Sengakuji Temple in Snow (Yuki no Sengakuji), from the series "One Hundred Views of Great Tokyo in the Showa Era (Showa dai Tokyo fukei hyaku zue hanga)"
1932
Color woodblock print; oban
Snow Light (Yuki akari)
Woodblock print
Snow No. 5
Woodblock print
Snow at Sakurada
1920s
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
True Pictures of Famous Places in Tokyo: Koume Towpath in the Snow
Woodblock print
The Snow Woman (Yuki Onna) in the play Yuki Onna Gomai Hagoita, from the book Dai Chikamatsu Zenshū
1922 (Taishō 11)
Woodblock print; ink, color and gold on paper
HIKONE-NO-YUKI (Snow at Hikone)
Woodblock print
LIght snow
Woodblock print
Snow in Takehara
Woodblock print
SUMINOKA, snow landscape
Woodblock print
YUKIMOYOI (Looking like Snow)
Woodblock print
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 Jun'ichiro Sekino 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 1012 prints tagged with snow scenes, spanning ukiyo-e, shin-hanga, and sōsaku-hanga traditions where applicable.