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- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Source:
- Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Image courtesy of
- Metropolitan Museum of Art
Description
This woodblock print from Kiyochika's hand captures the sensory texture of Meiji Tokyo through precise observation of artificial illumination and atmospheric conditions. The image likely depicts a recognizable Tokyo location — a gate, a shrine approach, a riverside promenade — bathed in the light of lanterns or early electric arc lamps. Kiyochika's training in Western oil techniques under Charles Wirgman's circle enabled him to render light not as a decorative element but as the primary structural force of the composition. The surrounding darkness, built through successive applications of black and indigo inks, gives the lit area a visual weight that pulls the viewer's attention inward toward the source.