Long-lasting evening moon

Long-lasting evening moon takes up a classical Japanese poetic subject — the lingering moon (nokoru tsuki) that holds in the sky across a long autumn or winter night — and treats it through the layered tonal method that characterizes Hagiwara's mature work. The composition would typically center a pale lunar disc against a deeply built-up ground of indigos, charcoals, and warm dark grays, each laid in by a separate carved block on heavy washi to achieve the translucent night-air effect his prints are known for. Bokashi gradations soften the transition from horizon to upper sky, while the woodgrain registered by the baren contributes a faint atmospheric grain across the expanse. The numbered title (this being the second iteration) places the print within a series in which Hagiwara revisited the motif under different palettes and proportions, paralleling the serial logic of his Stone Garden and gemstone works. The subject connects to the long Japanese tradition of moon imagery, translated here into sosaku-hanga abstraction.