Untitled
by Kawase Hasui
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Source:
- Hara Shobo
- Image courtesy of
- Hara Shobo
Description
A [shin-hanga](/glossary/shin-hanga) woodblock print by Kawase Hasui, likely depicting a nocturnal or moonlit landscape — a subject type central to his reputation and commercial success. Hasui's night scenes exploit the capacity of woodblock printing to build up dense, layered darks through multiple block impressions while preserving the reflective luminosity of water, snow, or bare [washi](/glossary/washi). A full or partial moon illuminates distant hills, temple rooftops, or a harbor basin, casting cool light across vertical surfaces and creating reflected light paths on still water. The distinction between the dark sky and the even darker foreground vegetation or architecture is achieved through careful color block sequencing. Such prints demonstrate the technical complexity underlying the apparent simplicity of Hasui's night landscapes: the luminous quality of moonlight is the result of ink subtraction — areas left less densely printed — rather than the addition of white pigment.

![[abstract composition with diagonal woodgrain] by Gen Yamaguchi](https://1.api.artsmia.org/800/135949.jpg)