Every year I look forward to snow when Winter’s upon us. Since my childhood, NYC received a great amount of snow that blanketed the entire city. I have a lot of good memories, from having a white Christmas, shoveling snow with my father in front of our home, to trekking for hours around my neighborhood while bundled up with a heavy coat, gloves, and snow boots. Snow days are essential for kobudō training, as it offers another environment to challenge & evolve our skills. Lately, due to modernization through the advancement of technology, as well as climate change affecting all over the world, snow is becoming a rarity where I live, or the snow fall is so small that in a few hours it all melts away!

Recently I’ve been spending some time doing research on past lifestyle of people in Japan during wintertime. While there are all sorts of records pertaining to specific time periods, the most appealing are the visual ones, namely ukiyoe (浮世絵) and hanga (版画). For this article, I’m sharing some of the artworks I’ve come across that present iconic wintertime visuals, which should be appealing to those reminiscing about snow-filled days that was once common in NYC. It’s a mix between artworks showing different activities to famous locations during Japan’s snow-filled winter season.

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#1

Suzuki Harunobu was active as an artist during the mid 1700s. In this artwork, he illustrates several boys playing yukikorogashi. Meaning “rolling the snow into a ball”, It’s a simple game where you take a handful of snow, place it ontop of snow on the ground, and proceed to roll it across. If done correctly, the snowball will gradually grow as it accumulates, soon becoming massive in size. A game played during Edo period, it has also survived into modern times.

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#2

Another interpretation of kids playing yukikorogashi, by the renown artist Utagawa Sadashige. With a greater number of kids this time around, a larger yukidama (雪玉, snowball) is being created in the bottom left. In the upper right, some kids are making a yuki usagi (雪うさぎ, snow bunny) out of the snow. To the upper left, one kid is raining snow balls on unsuspecting targets. This artwork is a fine example of how kids spend their time enjoying the snow-related games during winter.

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#3

Here, we are presented a visual of the temple Kinryūzan Sensōji in Asakusa, Tokyo. Possibly being one of the more popular tourist spots around Tokyo, Asakusa is generally crowded as it has many attractions, including this location. Sensōji (the label “Kinryūzan” is its Buddhist tag) is treasured as being the oldest temple in Tokyo, as it dates back to 645. Along with visiting this temple, many come to take pictures at the front gate Kaminarimon (雷門), and shop at Nakamise Dōri (仲見世通り), which is a long path lined up with different types of shops along both sides.

Utagawa Hiroshige painted this artwork in the late 1850s as part of the collection of famous sights around Edo, now known as present-day Tokyo. The viewpoint is from under the gate Hōzōmon (宝蔵門), which is located in the more north-eastern part of the area. From this gate we can see the grounds, Kaminarimon & other structures, trees, and the people walking along the grounds covered in snow. There are some people making their way towards Kaminarimon to the left, while others appear to be heading towards Gojū no Tō (五重塔), or “Five-Storied Pagoda” to the right.

On a side note, I’ve personally visited Sensōji in the winter during my earlier trips to Japan, but it wasn’t covered in snow like in this artwork. Wish it was tho, as it would’ve been a cool experience in my book.

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#4

Here we see another temple blanketed in snow. Not just any temple, Zōjōji has a deep history with the Tokugawa clan, as they had it relocated from further east to what is now known as present-day Tokyo city.  Recognized for being within a large area having beautiful green lawns, through this artwork one can imagine there would be little traces of them considering how much snow is covering the ground.

Kawase Hasui captures a view of Zōjōji’s main gate Sangedatsumon (三解脱門) on a day of a snow storm in this piece made in 1925. He does a great job in showing contrast on the areas around the temple that would naturally be snowed on, as well as showing weight on the branches of the tree to the left as they accumulate snow. We also get an idea of how fierce the storm is by the angle in which the snow is falling, as well how the woman walking the grounds narrows her umbrella to protect herself from the frosty winds.

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#5

Japan is famous for the many torii (鳥居, Shintō shrine archways) around Japan. Many feature unique designs, while some are in the most unexpected locations. In this artwork we get a visual of the popular Ōtori (大鳥居), or Grand shrine archway of the national treasure shrine called Itsukushima Jinja (嚴島神社), located in Hiroshima prefecture. This archway sits out in the waters of the ocean, while most of the shrine itself is constructed along the edge of the ocean as well.

In this1936 artwork, Tsuchiya Koitsu conveys the natural phenomenon of the Ōtorii and other objects around it being covered in snowfall. There is light snowfall, but apparently it’s been snowing for awhile, considering the amount of snow that sits on the branches of a tree to the upper right.

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#6

Another artwork from around 1858 by Utagawa Hiroshige, the theme of this centers around the bridge known as Kyōbashi (京橋). It’s built over Kyōbashikawa (京橋川), a river that runs through Hiroshima city in Hiroshima prefecture. The scenery covered in heavy snowfall, the artist uses the viewpoint from the snow-covered bridge, as we see a townsfolk with an umbrella about to make it across, followed by a messenger. We get a clear understanding of how deep the snow is by the messenger, who’s feet are completely submerged under the snow.

Take note of the 2 shops on either side of the artwork, which appear to still be open despite being blanketed in snow. The shop on the left with the sign “Yamakujira” (山くじら) sells boar meat, while the one to the right with the sign “〇Yaki Jūsan-ri” (〇やき十三里) sells roasted sweet potatoes with chestnuts. The aroma must be good, as it’s attracted a few dogs despite the weather condition.

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#7

Lastly is an early-mid 1800s artwork of warriors dressed for battle on a wintry day. Utagawa Hiroshige has done all types of artworks on different themes, both realistic and fictional. This one is based on the fictionally-interpreted tale entitled Chūshingura (忠臣蔵), or “Treasury of Loyal Retainers”, which is set around the early 1700s according the factual accounts its based off of. In the West this is primarily known as “47 Rōnin”. This tale is popular all over the world, with many artistic adaptations over different generations.

This artwork captures the scene where these masterless warriors prepare to storm into their destination, being the home of a Kira Yoshihisa, who was responsible for their former master’s death. From a combative perspective, it is interesting to see the attire they wear as they travel along the snowy grounds. Dressed in what was standard for 1700s, one can imagine that the material was durable for the cold, and that they were dressed with a certain number of layers. Yet, they do not looked weighed down by bulky & heavy clothing, meaning they were still nimble enough to handle any opposition they would encounter along the way as they were set to extract revenge on Kira Yoshihisa himself.

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This concludes our viewing of wintertime-themed artworks made by different artists during Japan’s Edo period. Looking at renown works as these are a great way to see, as well as compare, certain locations present-day to their past appearances. Shame that these won’t satisfy my hunger for a snow-filled winter. Well, here’s looking towards some real snowfall in the later part of winter in the New Year!