Hanga
(柳原夜雨) by Kobayashi Kiyochika — Japanese Woodblock print

(柳原夜雨)

by Kobayashi Kiyochika

Medium:
Woodblock print
Image courtesy of
Ritsumeikan University

Description

The title translates as Night Rain at Yanagihara, referring to a low-lying district along the Kanda River in Tokyo known for its willows. Rain scenes were central to Kiyochika's kosen-ga practice: precipitation diffuses artificial light into halos and soft reflections across wet pavement or dark water, enabling the atmospheric effects he developed under Western influence. Here the willows would likely be rendered as curtains of hanging branches dissolving into darkness and rain, their forms caught by lantern light or moonlight filtered through storm clouds. The composition likely uses the deep blacks and luminous mid-tones that distinguish Kiyochika's night prints from those of his predecessors in the Hiroshige tradition.

More Prints by Kobayashi Kiyochika

Frequently Asked Questions

(柳原夜雨) was created by Kobayashi Kiyochika (小林清親).