Trees Prints (493)
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
Grove
Woodblock print
Jug and Branch
Mokuhanga with hand-painted detail
Stumps
Mokuhanga on washi
Tree Trunks
Woodblock print
Pine
Woodblock print
Graphic Studio Dublin • Ed Miliano: Winter-Tree-831x1024
Graphic Studio Dublin • Ed Miliano: Winter Tree (Framed)
Graphic Studio Dublin: Spring Tree
Graphic Studio Dublin • Ed Miliano: Ed-miliano-autumn tree -mokuhanga-gallery-dublin-ireland
Graphic Studio Dublin • Ed Miliano: Ed-miliano-autumn tree on orange-mokuhanga-gallery-dublin-ireland
Graphic Studio Dublin • Ed Miliano: Ed-miliano -paradise tree fruits-mokuhanga-gallery-dublin-ireland
Graphic Studio Dublin • Ed Miliano: Ed-miliano-paradise tree birds -mokuhanga-gallery-dublin-ireland
Graphic Studio Dublin • Ed Miliano: Ed-miliano-spring tree on green-mokuhanga-gallery-dublin-ireland
Graphic Studio Dublin • Ed Miliano: Ed-miliano-summer tree-mokuhanga-gallery-dublin-ireland
Graphic Studio Dublin • Ed Miliano: Ed-miliano-Blue-tree-mokuhanga-gallery-dublin-ireland-scaled.jpg
Graphic Studio Dublin • Ed Miliano: Ed-miliano-tree on Yellow-mokuhanga-gallery-dublin-ireland
Graphic Studio Dublin • Ed Miliano: Ed-miliano-winter tree-mokuhanga-gallery-dublin-ireland
Graphic Studio Dublin • Ed Miliano: Ed-miliano-winter tree with berries-mokuhanga-gallery-dublin-ireland
Grove of Trees (RIN)
Woodblock print
White Tree B
Woodblock print
White Tree B
Woodblock print
The Sunshine Filtering through Foliage #2
Lithograph
The Sunshine Filtering Through Foliage #3
Lithograph
The Sunshine Filtering Through Foliage #4
Lithograph
The Sunshine Filtering through Foliage #5
Lithograph
Apple Tree
Lithograph
The Daruma Branch
1910
Color woodcut on paper
Shade of a Tree
Drypoint etching
The Bamboo Fence
1904
Color woodcut on cream Japanese paper
Bamboo and Plum
2018
Ink on Paper
Cypress
1995
Etching
Red Monochromatic Abstract Woodblock Monoprint of a Web of Trees Landscape
1974
Monoprint; woodcut print
Birds on a Branch
1871
Watercolor on paper
Blue Tree
2009
Woodblock Print
Shade of a Tree
1970
Screenprint
Two Crows on a Branch Overlooking Asakusa at Dawn
1883
Hanging scroll: ink and color on silk
”Taira No Tadanori Under the Cherry Tree”
1884
Ink, paper
”Pigeon in Flight and Blossoming Cherry Tree”
1931
Ink, paper
Pagoda with the trees
1972
Woodcut in colours
Birch Trees
Mokuhanga
Salt Tree
Mixed media collage on board
tree
2026
Screenprint
Photo-Respiration Trees Hakkoda #2
2009
Archival pigment print
Photo Respiration Trees Shirakami #10
2008
Archival pigment print
Photo Respiration Trees Shirakami #2
2008
Archival pigment print
Photo Respiration Trees Shirakami #4
2008
Archival pigment print
Photo Respiration Trees Shirakami #9
2008
Archival pigment print
Three Trees on Hill
Woodblock Print
Moon and Bamboo
Nihonga (natural mineral pigments) on silk
Apple Tree 2
2017
C-print, acrylic frame
Apple Tree 4
2017
C-print, acrylic frame
Spirits of Trees
Woodcut
Forest 1974
Etching
Forest, Woodcutter, and Fire
Etching
Forest 1975
Etching
Forest Clearing - January 1975
Etching
Forest Clearing - February 1975
Etching
MORI NO OGAWA (brook in the forest)
Woodblock print
windswept wind swept palm tree spitzack woodblock woodcut mokuhanga print printmaking washi seattle art
toucans toucan woodland park zoo spitzack woodblock woodcut mokuhanga print printmaking washi seattle art
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.
Fumio Kitaoka, Joichi Hoshi, and Tanaka Ryohei 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 493 prints tagged with trees, spanning ukiyo-e, shin-hanga, and sōsaku-hanga traditions where applicable.