This woodblock print by Utagawa Hiroshige depicts travellers caught in a downpour on the road to Shōno. The driving rain is represented by closely spaced, parallel lines, conveying the harshness of travel and the power of nature.

Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858) was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist, considered the last great master of that tradition. He is best known for his horizontal-format travel prints of the series *The Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō* and for his *One Hundred Famous Views of Edo*. These compositions were highly influential on European artists such as Manet and van Gogh. Hiroshige's ability to capture atmospheric conditions, especially weather, is a hallmark of his style. *White Rain, Shōno* depicts a group of travellers caught in a downpour on the road to Shōno. The driving rain is represented by closely spaced, parallel lines that dominate the composition. The figures, bent against the wind and rain, are rendered with simple lines and blocks of colour. The scene conveys a sense of the harshness of travel and the power of nature. The print is a study in contrasts, between the dark, almost monochromatic sky and the touches of colour in the figures' clothing and umbrellas.