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Night at the Pond Edge- Shinobazu Pond — 夜の池畔(不忍池) by Kawase Hasui — Japanese Woodblock print

Night at the Pond Edge- Shinobazu Pond — 夜の池畔(不忍池)

by Kawase Hasui

Medium:
Woodblock print
Image courtesy of
Japanese Art Open Database

Description

Hasui's repeated treatment of Shinobazu Pond's nighttime edge reflects his sustained interest in Tokyo's urban natural spaces as subjects for meisho-e landscape printing. This impression of 夜の池畔(不忍池)captures the pond at a moment of stillness, the water acting as a dark mirror for whatever light source — moon, lantern, or reflected city glow — governs the composition. Lotus plants, ubiquitous at Shinobazu, may appear as silhouetted organic forms in the foreground, grounding the scene in the specific botany of the place. The graduated sky is achieved through repeated bokashi passes with the baren, building up even tone on dampened washi. Among the several numbered variant impressions of this subject, small differences in the blue-black balance of the sky and the intensity of the water reflection distinguish one printing from another, evidence of the workshop's evolving approach to the design.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Night at the Pond Edge- Shinobazu Pond — 夜の池畔(不忍池) was created by Kawase Hasui (川瀬巴水).

Night at the Pond Edge- Shinobazu Pond — 夜の池畔(不忍池) depicts night scenes.