Night Rain at a Shrine
- Date:
- early 1760s
- Medium:
- Color woodblock print; hosoban, mizu-e
- Source:
- Art Institute of Chicago
Description
Night Rain at a Shrine is an early 1760s hosoban mizu-e color woodblock print at the Art Institute of Chicago. The subject belongs to the Eight Views tradition, a Chinese landscape canon adapted into countless Japanese poetic and visual series, in which "night rain" was a standard topos representing autumnal melancholy and contemplative quiet. Set in front of a shrine, the print uses the soft, washed colors characteristic of mizu-e to suggest rain-darkened wood and damp foliage. The hosoban format constrains the composition to a tall, narrow rectangle, and Shigemasa relies on careful negative space and a low-saturation palette to evoke atmosphere. This print is among the prints that demonstrate Shigemasa's range outside actor portraits and bijin-ga: his interest in poetic, landscape-derived subjects was integral to his identity as a literate designer at home in both popular and scholarly idioms. The Art Institute of Chicago, where this impression resides, holds one of the deepest collections of his early hosoban prints.
More Prints by Kitao Shigemasa
Autumn Moon over Sumida River (Sumida aki zuki), from the series "Eight Views of the Sumida River (Sumidagawa hakkei)"
early 1760s
Color woodblock print; hosoban, mizu-e
Crossing the Bridge at Sano
c. 1774
Color woodblock print; koban
No. 5: Noda River in Mutsu Province, from the series "Six Jewel Rivers of the Floating World (Ukiyo Mu Tamagawa)"
c. 1769
Color woodblock print; hosoban
No. 6: Tama River of Koyasan in Kii Province, from the series "Six Jewel Rivers of the Floating World (Ukiyo Mu Tamagawa)"
c. 1769
Color woodblock print; hosoban
More Rain Prints
Rain Shower at Shо̄no, from the series Fifty-three Stations of the Tо̄kaidо̄ (Tо̄kaidо̄ gojusan tsugi)
1962
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Shōno: Driving Rain (Shōno hakuu), from the series Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō (Tōkaidō gojūsan tsugi no uchi), also known as the First Tōkaidō or Great Tōkaidō
c. 1833-36
Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper
Omiya in Rain (Ame no Omiya)
Ame no Omiya
1930
Color woodblock print; oban
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
Frequently Asked Questions
Night Rain at a Shrine was created by Kitao Shigemasa (北尾重政) in early 1760s.
Night Rain at a Shrine depicts rain.