Masao Ido

I am off to ski for a holiday weekend here, in the best powder anyone can remember for a long, long time. So, in honor of the wonderful snow here this year and the crazy snowy winter in the US, I will leave you with a series of Japanese woodblock images of snow falling. Viewed in chronological order, they give such a clear narrative of the development of the medium, changing artistic styles, and advances in print making technology. All have a marvelously realistic but magical quality to their depiction of the snowfall.

Hokusai Fuji-in-deep-snow — Hokusai, Fuji in Deep Snow, from 100 Views of Fuji, c. 1834

Hiroshige Gion shrine in snow — Hiroshige, Gion Shrine in Snow, from Famous Places in Kyoto, c. 1834

Hiroshige Atagoshita-and-yabu-lane — Hiroshige, Atagoshita and Yabu Lane from 100 Views of Edo, 1857

Hasui Spring Snow at Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto — Kawase Hasui, Spring Snow at Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto, 1932

Saito-winter-in-aizu 1969 — Kiyoshi Saito, Winter in Aizu, 1969

Tokuriki Snow-over-kiyomizu-temple 1983 — Tomikichiro Tokuriki, Snow Over Kiyomizu Temple, 1983

SANO Seiji 2004 Snow Falling Softly — Seiji Sano, Snow Falling Softly, 2004

YAMAMOTO Keisuke Kiyomizu Temple covered with snow — Keisuke Yamamoto, Kiyomizu Temple Covered with Snow, 2010

And one more I can’t help but share, even though it is not a print at all, but a photograph from a series by Yuji Obata. It took Obata five years to figure out how to photograph the snowflakes directly as they fell from the sky. For more images and information see James Danzinger’s blog, The Year In Pictures.