Hanga
Boy and Rooster in Moonlight, Shôwa period, dated 1959 by Jun'ichiro Sekino — Japanese Woodblock print

Boy and Rooster in Moonlight, Shôwa period, dated 1959

by Jun'ichiro Sekino

Sōsaku-hanga
Night Scenes
Medium:
Woodblock print
Image courtesy of
Harvard Art Museum

Description

Dated 1959, this print pairs a young boy with a rooster under moonlight, a nocturnal variant of the boy-and-rooster subject Sekino had also treated in 1957. The moonlit setting shifts the palette toward cool blues and deep blacks, with the pale disk of the moon likely functioning as a key compositional element and light source. Sekino's night-scene prints use the absence of fill color strategically — areas of unprinted washi can suggest reflected light or mist against darker surrounds. The rooster, with its upright posture and fanned tail, provides strong graphic contrast to the softer contours of the child figure. The pairing of child and farmyard animal recurs across his work as a motif drawing on Aomori rural life and the folk culture of Tohoku.

More Prints by Jun'ichiro Sekino

"A Boy and His Rooster (Artist's son, Jumpei, aged 12)" by Jun'ichiro Sekino

"A Boy and His Rooster (Artist's son, Jumpei, aged 12)"

Woodblock print

Boy and Villagers by Jun'ichiro Sekino

Boy and Villagers

Woodblock print

Kawasaki, from the series 53 Stations of the Tokaido by Jun'ichiro Sekino

Kawasaki, from the series 53 Stations of the Tokaido

Woodblock print

Kyoto House by Jun'ichiro Sekino

Kyoto House

Woodblock print

More Night Scenes Prints

E

Evening in East Africa

Woodblock print

E

Evening Shower at Teradomari (Teradomari no yau), from the series "Souvenirs of Travel, Second Series (Tabi miyage dai nishu)"

Teradomari no yau

1921

Color woodblock print; oban

Mount Fuji on a Moonlit Night, Kawai Bridge (Tsukiyo no Fuji [Kawaibashi]), from the series "Selection of Views of the Tokaido (Tokaido fukei senshu)" by Kawase Hasui

Mount Fuji on a Moonlit Night, Kawai Bridge (Tsukiyo no Fuji [Kawaibashi]), from the series "Selection of Views of the Tokaido (Tokaido fukei senshu)"

1947

Color woodblock print; oban

Evening Moon at Nakanoshima, Sapporo (Sapporo Nakanoshima no yuzuki), from the series "Collection of Views of Japan, Eastern Japan Edition (Nihon fukei shu higashi Nihon hen)" by Kawase Hasui

Evening Moon at Nakanoshima, Sapporo (Sapporo Nakanoshima no yuzuki), from the series "Collection of Views of Japan, Eastern Japan Edition (Nihon fukei shu higashi Nihon hen)"

March 1933

Color woodblock print; oban

Featured in Collections

Curated cross-cuts that include this print.

Sōsaku-Hanga: The Creative-Print Movement

Frequently Asked Questions

Boy and Rooster in Moonlight, Shôwa period, dated 1959 was created by Jun'ichiro Sekino (関野準一郎).

Boy and Rooster in Moonlight, Shôwa period, dated 1959 depicts night scenes.