Trees Prints (520)
Trees are a fundamental compositional element and independent subject in Japanese woodblock printmaking, appearing as framing devices, atmospheric indicators, and primary subjects that showcase the medium's ability to render organic form through carved wood. The woodblock technique has a natural affinity for depicting trees — the carved lines of the block echo the texture of bark and branch, creating a material sympathy between medium and subject. Pine trees (matsu) hold particular cultural significance in Japanese art, symbolizing longevity, resilience, and the endurance of virtue. Prints featuring wind-bent pines along coastlines, ancient pines in temple gardens, and the famous pine groves of Miho and Karasaki recur throughout the tradition. Cherry trees in blossom (sakura) are equally iconic, their brief flowering season providing a powerful metaphor for the transience celebrated in Japanese aesthetics. Other tree subjects — weeping willows along canals, cryptomeria avenues leading to shrines, autumn maples (momiji) blazing with color — serve as seasonal markers and atmospheric elements that anchor landscape compositions in specific times and places. Shin-hanga artists like Hasui and Yoshida paid particular attention to trees as compositional elements, using them to frame distant views, create depth, and establish the atmospheric mood that distinguishes their landscape prints from earlier ukiyo-e conventions.
Artists Known for Trees
Bamboo Wood
1939
Color woodblock print
Pine Tree in Clear Weather after Snow
August 1929
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Kumoi Cherry Trees (Kumoi sakura)
Kumoi sakura
1926
Color woodblock print
Bamboo trees with a crescent moon
Not set
Woodblock print
Bamboo Grove of Saga
嵯峨竹林
1952
Woodblock print
Pine Tree
Woodblock print
November (The Willow Tree at the Gate of the Shimabara)
十一月 (島原大門柳)
second half 20th century
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Solitude, Shôwa period,
Woodblock print
Conservatory IV, Shôwa period, dated 1965
Woodblock print
Blue bird on maple tree (title not original)
Woodblock print
Red Maple Trees at the Tsuten Bridge (Tsutenkyo no momiji), from the series "Famous Places in Kyoto (Kyoto meisho no uchi)"
c. 1834
Color woodblock print; oban
Persimmon Tree
柿の木
c. 1934
Color woodblock print
Ancient Tree in Georgetown, Washington, D.C.
1965
Woodcut print
Shadow of a Cherry Tree
1933
Painting
Willow (Aoyagi)
c. 1940
Color woodblock print
Cranes, Rabbits, Morning Glory, Bamboo and Blossom
1820
Tiger and Bamboo (1)
Woodblock print
Yedoensis: Tree-B (artist’s proof)
2010
Digital and woodblock print
Black Cat in Tree
1940
Color woodblock print
Matsu (Pine Tree)
1968
Woodcut print
THE OLD MAN WHO MADE DEAD TREES BLOOM
Woodblock print
Tree of Knowledge
1977
Color silkscreen; edition 14/32
Tree Peony (2)
Woodblock print
Bamboo Grove
1939
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Cryptomeria Avenue (Later printing by Toshi Yoshida)
1937
Woodblock print
Willow and Stone Bridge
1926
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Cherry Blossom Tree Kanda
20/200, 2000
Woodblock print
Bird on branch of fruit tree
Woodblock print
White White Tree
139/200, 1997
Woodblock print
Bamboo Grove Under a Crescent Moon - 月下竹林
1950
Watercolor
Tree Peony — 牡丹
Not set
Woodblock print
Seven Bijin in a Bamboo Forest — 竹林七美人図
Not set
Woodblock print
Plum Trees and Dove — 梅林図
Not set
Woodblock print
Boston Ivy and Bamboo
Woodblock print
Bamboo in the Water
1916
Woodblock print
Cedar Lumbers
Woodblock print
Grove of Mixed Trees - 雑木林
Woodblock print
Willow tree on the bank of Sarusawa Pond — 猿沢池畔の柳
Woodblock print
Tree peony
Woodblock print
Single block print, maple tree
Woodblock print
Trees and Bird
Woodblock print
Skeleton Trees
Woodblock print
Willow Rain
Woodblock print
Bamboo grove
Woodblock print
Park Benches and Trees
Woodblock print
Lake and Pine Tree- PC
Woodblock print
Lake and Bamboo
Woodblock print
Bamboo and Mountain
Woodblock print
Distance View of Nara Pagoda from the Pond of Sarusawa and Willow Trees on the Right at Evening
Woodblock print
Landscape of trees with Mt Fuji in background
Woodblock print
Bamboo Grove by Stream
Woodblock print
Torii Gate in Bamboo Grove (1)
Woodblock print
Postard pagoda and pine tree
Woodblock print
Tree 74 I.
2012
Woodblock print, ink on paper
Bamboo
Woodblock print
Tree peony
Woodblock print
Mount Fuji with Cherry Trees in Bloom
c. 1801/05
Color woodblock print; surimono
Maple Trees at Kyoko Pond (Kyokochi koyo)
1968
Color woodblock print; edition 16/80
![Title unknown [Trees in the wind] by Kihei Sasajima](https://1.api.artsmia.org/800/135905.jpg)
Title unknown [Trees in the wind]
1959
Woodblock print, ink on paper
Trees in the Wind
1960
Woodblock print; edition 23/50
Related Subjects
Frequently Asked Questions
Trees are a fundamental compositional element and independent subject in Japanese woodblock printmaking, appearing as framing devices, atmospheric indicators, and primary subjects that showcase the medium's ability to render organic form through carved wood. The woodblock technique has a natural affinity for depicting trees — the carved lines of the block echo the texture of bark and branch, creating a material sympathy between medium and subject.
Kotozuka Eiichi, Fumio Kitaoka, and Joichi Hoshi are among the artists most associated with trees in our collection. Browse the full list of artists who explored this subject above.
Hanga currently catalogues 520 prints tagged with trees, spanning ukiyo-e, shin-hanga, and sōsaku-hanga traditions where applicable.