Hanga
"Moonlight at Sanzenin Shrine, Kyoto. SANZEN'IN SHRINE, OHARA, KYOTO" by Kawase Hasui — Japanese Woodblock print

"Moonlight at Sanzenin Shrine, Kyoto. SANZEN'IN SHRINE, OHARA, KYOTO"

by Kawase Hasui

Shin-hanga
Night Scenes
Medium:
Woodblock print
Image courtesy of
Japanese Art Open Database

Description

This impression of the Sanzen-in moonlight design represents one of the later printings of the composition. In extended Watanabe edition runs, bokashi gradations in sky areas could soften with block wear, and darker tones might become less uniform. The composition's effectiveness depends on precise registration across multiple blocks—the architectural outlines, the garden textures, the sky gradation—and any misalignment or ink inconsistency affects the nocturnal mood Hasui sought. The Sanzen-in subject, with its combination of Buddhist architecture, ancient landscape garden, and mountain setting north of Kyoto, was well suited to the shin-hanga movement's program of documenting Japanese cultural geography through atmospheric printmaking.

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description

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More Night Scenes Prints

E

Evening in East Africa

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

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.

Shin-Hanga: Japan's Twentieth-Century Print Revival

Frequently Asked Questions

"Moonlight at Sanzenin Shrine, Kyoto. SANZEN'IN SHRINE, OHARA, KYOTO" was created by Kawase Hasui (川瀬巴水).

"Moonlight at Sanzenin Shrine, Kyoto. SANZEN'IN SHRINE, OHARA, KYOTO" depicts night scenes.