A nocturnal water scene — one of Hasui's most technically sophisticated subjects, requiring the master printing of both moonlight effects and water reflections simultaneously. Gallery retail for Moon at Magome (a comparable night-water scene) is listed at $15,000 by Egenolf Gallery. Moonlight over Kanazawa Canal (postwar, 1950) sold for $2,300 at Bonhams London (2022) even in a later edition — earlier impressions command substantially more. Pre-war lifetime editions bearing the Watanabe copyright seal (A through G types, 1926–1944) are the most desirable.
Shinobazu Pond at Night, published in April 1932, depicts the famous lotus pond in Ueno park under nocturnal illumination — the broad shallow lake that occupies the valley below Ueno's temple and museum hill, its surface dotted with lotus pads and centered by the small Benten shrine island. At night the pond's dark water reflects any available light — lanterns, moonlight, or the glow of surrounding buildings — and Hasui's composition likely captures this reflective quality along with the silhouette of the Benten shrine or surrounding trees. The April publication aligns with the season when cherry blossoms above and lotus buds below would have marked the pond's annual transition.
Nikko Chuzenjiko
1930
Color woodblock print; oban
Wakasa Kugushiko
1920
Color woodblock print; oban
Niigata Gosaibori
1921
Color woodblock print; oban
Woodblock print
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Shinobazu Pond at Night was created by Kawase Hasui (川瀬巴水) in April 1932.
Shinobazu Pond at Night uses Bokashi, Nishiki-e, and Moku-hanga, on color woodblock print.
Shinobazu Pond at Night was published by Watanabe Shozaburo (April 1932).
Shinobazu Pond at Night depicts rivers & lakes and night scenes, set at Tokyo, Shinobazu Pond.
Shinobazu Pond at Night measures 36.3 × 24 cm (Oban format).
