Moonlight on the Yodo River
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Source:
- Art Gallery of Greater Victoria
- Image courtesy of
- Art Gallery of Greater Victoria
Description
This nocturnal landscape depicts the Yodo River, which flows south from Lake Biwa through the Kyoto basin toward Osaka, under moonlight. Hokusai renders the water surface with pale graduated bokashi to suggest the diffuse glow of reflected moonlight, while silhouetted riverbanks and vegetation frame the central expanse of water. Boatmen navigating the river provide scale and human presence. The Yodo River was a major transport corridor in the Kansai region, connecting the commercial capitals of Kyoto and Osaka, and its banks were sites of celebrated scenic views. Night-scene prints required particular technical care from carvers and printers: the graduated dark-to-light tone across sky and water demanded precise baren pressure during printing, and the balance between deep indigo and lighter reserves for moonlit water surfaces reflects the technical demands of nocturnal meisho-e composition. The print demonstrates Hokusai's interest in atmospheric light effects independent of the Fuji series context.
More Prints by Katsushika Hokusai
The Fishermen of Katase Hauling in Their Nets: The Purple Shell (Murasakigai)
1821
Color woodblock print with metallic pigments; surimono shikishiban
Burdock Root (Kurama gobo), from the series "A Selection of Horses (Uma-zukushi)"
1822
Color woodblock print; shikishiban, surimono
Horse Shells (Umagai), from the series "A Selection of Horses (Uma-zukushi)"
1822
Color woodblock print; shikishiban, surimono
Orange Orchids, from an untitled series of flowers
c. 1832
Color woodblock print; oban
More Landscapes Prints
Lake Kugushi in Wakasa Province (Wakasa Kugushiko), from the series Souvenirs of Travel I (Tabi miyage dai isshu)"
Wakasa Kugushiko
1920
Color woodblock print; oban
Autumn Maple Leaves at Takao, from the album Eight Views of Kyoto (Kyôto hakkei)
Woodblock print
The Beach at Kaiganji in Sanuki Province (Sanuki Kaiganji no hama), from the series "Collection of Views of Japan II, Kansai Edition (Nihon fukei shu II Kansai hen)"
1934
Color woodblock print; oban
Tea Kettle, section of a sheet from the series "Mirror of Stone Rubbings of Views of the Provinces" (Kohon meihitsu ishizuri kagami)
n.d.
Woodblock print; ishizuri-e, section of harimaze sheet
Featured in Collections
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Frequently Asked Questions
Moonlight on the Yodo River was created by Katsushika Hokusai (葛飾北斎).
Moonlight on the Yodo River depicts landscapes and night scenes.