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- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Source:
- Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Image courtesy of
- Metropolitan Museum of Art
Description
This woodblock print exemplifies Kiyochika's signature kosen-ga approach, in which a concentrated light source — lantern, gas lamp, or moon — is rendered against deep, layered darkness achieved through dense ink application and precise bokashi gradations. The composition likely depicts a nocturnal urban scene from Meiji-era Tokyo, where pools of artificial light dissolve into surrounding shadow. Kiyochika employed multiple key blocks to build tonal depth, with the illuminated areas printed on dampened washi to achieve soft, diffused edges. The treatment of reflected light on surfaces such as water, lacquered rickshaws, or rain-slicked streets was a technical preoccupation that distinguished his work from earlier landscape traditions.