Autumn Moon over Sumida River (Sumida aki zuki), from the series "Eight Views of the Sumida River (Sumidagawa hakkei)"
- Date:
- early 1760s
- Medium:
- Color woodblock print; hosoban, mizu-e
- Source:
Autumn Moon over Sumida River, from the series Eight Views of the Sumida River (Sumidagawa hakkei), is an early 1760s [hosoban](/glossary/hosoban) mizu-e color woodblock print at the Art Institute of Chicago. The series localizes the centuries-old Chinese Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang Rivers tradition onto Edo's own Sumida River, the artery running through the city's pleasure quarters and entertainment districts. The Sumidagawa hakkei was a recurring subject in eighteenth-century [ukiyo-e](/glossary/ukiyo-e), with versions by Harunobu, Kiyonaga, Hokusai, and Hiroshige, but Shigemasa's early treatment is among the formative works that established the convention. "Autumn moon" - one of the canonical eight topics - figures the harvest moon over the river, a quintessential Japanese poetic image evoking transience and contemplative beauty. The mizu-e palette restrains the color so that the moon and water become the compositional centerpiece. By relocating a Chinese landscape canon onto a familiar Edo river, the series flattered viewers' classical literacy while celebrating their own city. The Art Institute of Chicago's impression preserves the original watery tonality of the technique.
c. 1774
Color woodblock print; koban
c. 1769
Color woodblock print; hosoban
c. 1769
Color woodblock print; hosoban
1767
Color woodblock print; hosoban, benizuri-e
![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)
1947
Color woodblock print; oban
March 1933
Color woodblock print; oban
1919
Color woodblock print
January 1938
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Autumn Moon over Sumida River (Sumida aki zuki), from the series "Eight Views of the Sumida River (Sumidagawa hakkei)" was created by Kitao Shigemasa (北尾重政) in early 1760s.
Autumn Moon over Sumida River (Sumida aki zuki), from the series "Eight Views of the Sumida River (Sumidagawa hakkei)" depicts moonlight and autumn foliage.