Urban Scenes Prints (704)
Urban scenes document the cities and towns of Japan through the lens of woodblock printmaking, capturing architecture, street life, commercial activity, and the evolving character of Japanese urban spaces across four centuries. The genre reflects Japan's transformation from a feudal society of castle towns to one of the world's most densely urbanized nations. Edo (modern Tokyo) was the original subject of urban-scene prints, with artists like Hiroshige documenting its bridges, markets, temples, and pleasure quarters in series such as "One Hundred Famous Views of Edo." These prints served both as artistic compositions and as practical guides for residents and travelers, recording neighborhoods that would later be transformed by modernization, fire, and earthquake. The Meiji era brought dramatic new urban subjects — railway stations, brick buildings, gas lamps, and Western-dressed pedestrians — as artists documented Japan's rapid transformation. Shin-hanga artists like Hasui and Koitsu later turned to older streetscapes, capturing traditional architecture and nighttime atmospheres threatened by modernization. Their prints of temple gates, canal-side houses, and lantern-lit streets became nostalgic records of a disappearing Japan, prized today as much for their documentary value as their artistic merit.
Artists Known for Urban Scenes
Onomichi-Japan
1971
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Sannenzaka
1976
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Shimogamo-Kyoto
1971
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Synchromy I
1967
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Takayama
1964
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Diary: Sept. 10th, '06 in Chicago
2006
Woodblock and silkscreen; edition 9/12
Nostalgia of Kyoto (Kyoto e no omoi), Shôwa period, circa 1960s
Woodblock print
Bright
Woodblock print
Shiba Benten ike
1929
Color woodcut
Onshi Park, Shiba (Shiba Onshi koen)
1937
Color woodblock print; oban
#17. Sumidagawa
Woodblock print
#32. Shiba
Woodblock print
Edo Meisho
Woodblock print
Skyline
Woodblock print
Kamogawa in Kyoto
1933
Color woodblock print
#29. Eilaibashi
Woodblock print
#40. Atagoyama
Woodblock print
Unknown, 1
Woodblock print
Four PM, from the series "Twenty-Four Hours in Shinbashi and Yanagibashi"
n.d.
Color woodblock print
Tsukuda Island (Tsukudajima), from the series "Famous Places in the Eastern Capital (Toto meisho)"
c. 1832/33
Color woodblock print; oban
Akashi-Cho - 明石町
Not set
Woodblock print
#15. Oji
Woodblock print
#37. Akibasan
Woodblock print
Doton-bori
Woodblock print
Surugadai, from the series "Famous Places in the Eastern Capital (Toto Meisho)"
c. 1832/33
Color woodblock print; oban
#19. Matsuchiyama
Woodblock print
#39. Akabane
Woodblock print
#45. Isunohaza
Woodblock print
#31. Tepposu Inari
Woodblock print
Greengrocery at Nezu (Nezu shojiki yaoya)
Nezu shojiki yaoya
1926
Color woodblock print; oban
Misty Morning, Yotsuya Approach (Kiri no asa (Yotsuya mitsuke))
March 1932
Color woodblock print
Yoshiwara
1785-1787
Kagurazaka Dori
1929
Woodblock print
Toto Aoi-ga-oka no taki 東都葵ヶ岡の瀧 / Shokoku Taki-meguri 諸国瀧廻り
Woodblock print
#21. Asakua
Woodblock print
#43. Sannogongen
Woodblock print
Miyako Utsuri
Woodblock print
Red Hook
2005
Woodcut, hand-colored
ASHIOTO (Footsteps)
Woodblock print
Hara Shobō
Woodblock print
Matoba, Takehara (Takehara Matoba (Hiroshima ken))
1948
Color woodblock print
Fashionable Places in Edo
1785-1787
Traffic
1955
Color woodblock print
#41. Aoizaka
Woodblock print
Suzhou
1940
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Kyoto Series, No. 33
1966
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
#20. Surawaka-cho
Woodblock print
#18. Shin-Yoshiwara
Woodblock print
#34. Kanasugibashi
Woodblock print
#42. Kasumigaseki
Woodblock print
#8. Yushima
Woodblock print
Sunset Glow at Tsukishima by Takashi Ito
Woodblock print
Singapore
1931
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Cemetery at Sengakuji, from the series Recollections of Tokyo
1945
Color woodblock print
Teppozu, from the series "Famous Places in the Eastern Capital (Toto meisho)"
c. 1832/33
Color woodblock print; oban
Lumber Yard
1760–1849
color woodblock print
Ookawabata
Not set
Watercolor
#3. Surugacho
Woodblock print
Sunset glow at Tsukishima
Woodblock print
Kobe
1916
Woodblock print
Related Subjects
Frequently Asked Questions
Urban scenes document the cities and towns of Japan through the lens of woodblock printmaking, capturing architecture, street life, commercial activity, and the evolving character of Japanese urban spaces across four centuries. The genre reflects Japan's transformation from a feudal society of castle towns to one of the world's most densely urbanized nations.
Utagawa Hiroshige, Inoue Yasuji, and Oda Kazuma are among the artists most associated with urban scenes in our collection. Browse the full list of artists who explored this subject above.
Hanga currently catalogues 704 prints tagged with urban scenes, spanning ukiyo-e, shin-hanga, and sōsaku-hanga traditions where applicable.