Painting subjects of winter snow, the autumn moon, and spring cherry blossoms, often presented in a triptych format. The subjects are thought to originate from a verse by the Chinese poet Bo Chui (772-846; Jp: Haku Kyoi 白居易 or *Haku Rakuten 白楽天), which contains the line, "Setsugekka no toki mottomo kimi wo omou 雪月花の時最も君を憶ふ." (When I see the snow, moon, or flower, I always think of you.) The theme was also worked into Japanese waka 和歌 poetry. The earliest known use in Japanese literature occurs in Makura no sōshi 枕草子 (The Pillow Book, ca.1000) by Sei Shōnagon 清少納言. Thus, the subject not only represents seasonal changes, but holds various literary allusions.
In painting, the theme was often combined with the views of famous places *meisho-e 名所絵. For example, the winter snow might appear atop a depiction of Mt. Fuji 富士 (see *fugaku-zu 富嶽図), the moon in a scene of autumn foliage along the banks of *Tatsutagawa 竜田川, and the cherry blossoms in a view of Mt. *Yoshino 吉野. Setsugekka was a popular *yamato-e やまと絵 subject, and it was also favored by *Rinpa 琳派 artists. In *ukiyo-e 浮世絵 the theme was often used as a parody *mitate-e 見立絵 in pictures of beauties *bijinga 美人画, or incorporated into landscape scenes *fūkeiga 風景画.