Matsushima in Moonlight (Tsuki no Matsushima)
by Kawase Hasui
- Date:
- 1919
- Medium:
- Color woodblock print
- Format:
- Oban
- Publisher:
- Watanabe Shozaburo
- Edition:
- Published by Watanabe Shozaburo
- Source:
- Art Institute of Chicago
Description
Matsushima in Moonlight, published in 1919, depicts the celebrated bay of island-dotted Matsushima under nocturnal illumination — one of Hasui's earliest attempts at the moonlit seascape subject that would become among his most celebrated specialties. The 1919 date makes this among his first published prints, and the moonlit Matsushima composition — pine-topped islands reflected in still bay water under a full or near-full moon — established the nocturnal landscape vocabulary he would refine over four decades. The bokashi sky gradations here, moving from deep indigo to a lighter tone near the moon, represent early explorations of the technical effects he would master.
More Prints by Kawase Hasui
More Moonlight Prints
![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](https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/d0960668-1e73-339a-b182-fb995a54bff0/full/843,/0/default.jpg)
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)"
March 1933
Color woodblock print; oban
Kiyozumi Garden in Moonlight
January 1938
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Bamboo trees with a crescent moon
Not set
Woodblock print
Featured in Collections
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Frequently Asked Questions
Matsushima in Moonlight (Tsuki no Matsushima) was created by Kawase Hasui (川瀬巴水) in 1919.
Matsushima in Moonlight (Tsuki no Matsushima) uses Bokashi, on color woodblock print.
Matsushima in Moonlight (Tsuki no Matsushima) was published by Watanabe Shozaburo (1919).
Matsushima in Moonlight (Tsuki no Matsushima) depicts moonlight and night scenes, set at Matsushima.