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
Winter in Taguchi (Later printing by Toshi Yoshida)
1927
Woodblock print
Two crows in snow
Woodblock print
Winter, poem at night. Series: Tsukinami.
Woodblock print
Ice Floe, Utoro (Utoro ryūhyō)
1995
Photoetching and color woodblock print; artist’s proof
Children building snowman
Woodblock print
Snow at Kinkaku-ji Pavilion
Woodblock print
Snowy Dawn in the Imperial Palace Precincts, Kyoto (Gyoen-nai yuki no akatsuki)
Woodblock print
Cranefly Solstice
2016
Woodcut on mura washi
Kingfisher on Snowladden Reeds
1912-1936
Color woodblock print
Winter in Okusaga (Fuyu no Okusaga)
20th century
Color woodblock print; edition 72/100
Winter
1920s
Winter's Day — 冬の日
1999
Woodblock print
Dice (Utamaro)
1970
Color intaglio
House with Lattice Door (Koshido no ie)
2000
Color woodblock print; edition 50/80
Winter Self
1984
Woodblock print, ink and colors on paper
Winter
Woodblock print
Frosty Morn
1962
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper with embossing
Winter in Taguchi (Taguchi no fuyu), Shôwa period, dated 1927
Shôwa period, 1926-1989
Woodblock print
Winter (Fuyu)
1954
Color woodblock print
Peony Under Winter Straw Shelter - 藁ぼっち牡丹 (1)
1890
Woodblock print
Snowstorm
c.1940
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Twelve Images of Modern Beauties: SnowyNight (Shin bijin junisugata: Yuki no yo)
Woodblock print
Winter in Kamigamo, Kyoto (Kyoto Kamigamo no fuyu), from the series "Collection of Views of Japan II, Kansai Edition (Nihon fukei shu II Kansai hen)"
1933
Color woodblock print; oban
Children building snowman
Woodblock print
Children making a Snowman in the Northeast District
Woodblock print
Winter Moon over Toyama Plain (Fuyu no tsuki (Toyamagahara))
Fuyu no tsuki (Toyamagahara
December 1931
Color woodblock print
Rice Planting Girl - Saotome
Woodblock print
Saotome (The Rice Planter) (84/100)
Woodblock print
Winter Sky
Woodblock print
Winter Dreams
Woodblock print
Keiko no ma (In the Practice-Room (Spring)) / Kuruwa no Shunshu (The Seasons in the Entertainment Districts)
Woodblock print
![no. 4, Shinchi in Winter, Before the Mirror (Dai-yon, fuyu [Shinchi], Kagami no mae) by Kitano Tsunetomi](https://data.ukiyo-e.org/scholten/images/8f10f68664f7236306e061c1d87ae00c.jpg)
no. 4, Shinchi in Winter, Before the Mirror (Dai-yon, fuyu [Shinchi], Kagami no mae)
Woodblock print
![Seasons of the Pleasure Quarters: no. 4, Shinchi in Winter, Before the Mirror (Kuruwa no shunju: Dai-yon, fuyu [Shinchi], Kagami no mae) by Kitano Tsunetomi](https://data.ukiyo-e.org/scholten/images/27a918e97d120f577f6e1a4390588574.jpg)
Seasons of the Pleasure Quarters: no. 4, Shinchi in Winter, Before the Mirror (Kuruwa no shunju: Dai-yon, fuyu [Shinchi], Kagami no mae)
Woodblock print
Nijo Castle - Winter
Woodblock print
Autumnal Leaves on the Sluice Gate
Woodblock print
Winter Forest I
Woodblock print
February, Winter Sky
Woodblock print
Osaka Municipal Office
Woodblock print
Voice of The Moon, Shôwa period, dated March 1979
Shôwa period, 1926-1989
Woodblock print
Returning From Practice — 稽古がえり
Woodblock print
Pagoda of Toji Temple - Winter
Woodblock print
Winter Solstice
Kozo papers, fiber reactive dyes, joomchi felting
Winter Solstice
Kozo paper, mixed media
Snow Scene
Woodblock print
Snow Room — 雪むろ
Woodblock print
Mice, Radish, and Carrot
1926
Color woodblock print; oban
Basho's Winter Garden (Detail)
Multi-block mokuhanga with gold leaf on kozo washi (diptych)
Winter Courtyard Shadows
Multi-block mokuhanga with gold leaf on kozo washi
X (Alice)
Woodcut, water-based ink
The Pagoda of Ninnaji Temple Winter
Woodblock print
Tohoku no irori ha (Home-life in Winter-time (Northern Japan)) / Nihon jozoku sen (Woman's Customs in Japan)
Woodblock print
A Lattice Door
Woodblock print
Rice Field near Nara
Woodblock print
Winter Day
Woodblock print
Rice Harvesting
Woodblock print
Rice Planting — Taue
Woodblock print
Clean Wind, Neat Snow
Woodblock print
Rice Planting
Woodblock print
Dreams in the Snow
Woodblock print
I noticed my reflection in this water
2004
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 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.