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
M35- Spring Snow
Woodblock print
M52- After snow at Hakone Shrine
Woodblock print
Pagoda and Trees in the Snow (Yuki no tō)
20th century
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Pagoda in Snow
Woodblock print
River Sumida in snow
Woodblock print
Snow at Night (Yoru no yuki)
Woodblock print
Snow at Sakurada
1920s
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Snow in the Country
Woodblock print
Snow on Ayase River (Ayasegawa no Yuki)
Woodblock print
Snowy night with a hazy moon
Woodblock print
Spring Snow (Shunsetsu)
c. 1936
Color woodblock print
Woman in snow by the river
Woodblock print
Yushima Tenjin in Snow
Woodblock print
Snowy River
1920
Woodblock print
Yuki no Ibukiyama (Mount Ibuki in snow), numbered on verso 98/100, 1920
1920
Woodblock print
12 Aspects of Women, YUKI (Snow)
Edition of 100, 1980
Woodblock print
No. 10 - Snow - 雪
1929
Woodblock print
Peony Snowflakes — 牡丹雪
1933
Woodblock print
Snow (Yuki) — 雪
1929
Woodblock print
Snowy Evening — 雪の夕
1931
Woodblock print
Heron Maiden in Snow
Not set
Woodblock print
Heavy Snow at Takashiro (the fence of...) (Fukabuka no saku)
1957
Woodblock print
Snow (Yuki)
1958
Hand-colored woodblock print
Snow, Aizu (B)
Woodblock print
Snow and Sunset
Woodblock print
Snow, Boston, Shôwa period, dated 1963
Woodblock print
Old Pagoda in Clearing Snow, Mount Koya
1942
Color woodblock print
Shinobazu Pond in Snow
1930
Color woodblock print
Kambara: Deep Snow
Woodblock print
Glacial Snow
Woodblock print
Snow in the Valley
1958
Color woodblock print; edition 3/50
Snow Mountain — 雪山
Woodblock print
Snowy Mountain Village
Woodblock print
Snowy Valley
1959
Color woodblock print; edition 2/12
Stand on the snow gorge
Woodblock print
Unknown 1 - Snow man
Woodblock print
Good Snow
1990–91
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Light Snowfall
1990–91
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Mount Fuji with a Coating of Snow
1991
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Snow Falling on Town
1966
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
SNOW SCENE
Woodblock print
Light Snowfall: Actor Ichikawa Sadanji I as Obō Kichisa
c. 1876
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Taira Kiyomori Seeing Skulls in the Snowy Garden
May 1882
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and colors on paper
The Moon over Gojo Bridge (Gojo no tsuki), from the series "Heroes for the Snow, Moon, and Flowers (Buyu setsugekka)"
1867
Color woodblock print; oban diptych
Two Puppies in the Snow
Woodblock print
A Picture of Deep Snow at Tosho Shrine at Ueno
Woodblock print
Braving the Snow, Our Troops Capture the Stronghold at Weihaiwei
1895 (Meiji 28)
Woodblock print (nishiki-e) triptych; ink and colors on paper
Night Patrol in the Snow near Niu-chuang
1894 (Meiji 27)
Woodblock print (nishiki-e) triptych; ink and color on paper
Near Nuizhuang, Scouts on a Snowy Night
December 1894
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Picture of General Nozu's Advance at Liaoyang in Clear Weather after Snow
January 1895?
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Picture of the Great Fierce Battle of Niuzhuang in Snow
February 1895
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Ryōgoku in Snow
1877
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Snow at Ochanomizu
Woodblock print
The Second Month, Matsuchiyama in Snow at Dusk
March 1896
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Triptych: Night Patrol in the Snow near Niu-chuang (Gyûsô fukin setsuya no sekkô), Meiji period,
Woodblock print
Yuki o okashite waga gun Ikaiei no kenrui o nuku zu (Braving the snow our army captures the fortress at Weihaiwei)
Woodblock print
New Snow — 新雪
Woodblock print
Snow — 雪
Woodblock print
Snow at Shinobazu
Woodblock print
Ginkakuji-Snow
1979
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
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.