-
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Source:
- Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Image courtesy of
- Metropolitan Museum of Art
Description
A nocturnal scene characteristic of Kiyochika's mature practice, this print employs his well-developed vocabulary of light effects to describe a Tokyo location at dusk or after dark. The composition probably features a body of water — the Sumida River and its tributaries were recurring subjects — with light reflected across the surface in broken horizontal strokes. The [bokashi](/glossary/bokashi) technique, applied through careful [baren](/glossary/baren) pressure on dampened [washi](/glossary/washi), created smooth tonal transitions from illuminated water to darkened sky that no earlier woodblock tradition had achieved. Kiyochika registered these prints with the Meiji government's publishing bureau as required, and his series on Tokyo views sold steadily through the 1870s and into the 1880s.