Late Autumn Calm on the Sumida River
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Source:
- Honolulu Museum of Art
- Image courtesy of
- Honolulu Museum of Art
Description
The Sumida River appears repeatedly in Kiyochika's landscape work, and this print captures the river in late autumn when bare branches, muted foliage, and low-angle light create conditions suited to his atmospheric approach. The composition likely emphasizes horizontal calm: a flat water surface, boats at rest or drifting slowly, and a sky conveying the cool, overcast quality of the season. Kiyochika's characteristic bokashi gradations across sky and water would establish the tonal mood, while scattered warm tones—perhaps lantern light or the last reed-yellow of riverside vegetation—provide contrast. The Sumida was already an industrializing waterway during Kiyochika's most active period in the 1870s and 1880s, and prints like this document its transitional landscape as traditional wooden craft shared the river with steam-powered vessels.
More Prints by Kobayashi Kiyochika
More Landscapes Prints
Lake Kugushi in Wakasa Province (Wakasa Kugushiko), from the series Souvenirs of Travel I (Tabi miyage dai isshu)"
Wakasa Kugushiko
1920
Color woodblock print; oban
Autumn Maple Leaves at Takao, from the album Eight Views of Kyoto (Kyôto hakkei)
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The Beach at Kaiganji in Sanuki Province (Sanuki Kaiganji no hama), from the series "Collection of Views of Japan II, Kansai Edition (Nihon fukei shu II Kansai hen)"
1934
Color woodblock print; oban
Tea Kettle, section of a sheet from the series "Mirror of Stone Rubbings of Views of the Provinces" (Kohon meihitsu ishizuri kagami)
n.d.
Woodblock print; ishizuri-e, section of harimaze sheet
Featured in Collections
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Frequently Asked Questions
Late Autumn Calm on the Sumida River was created by Kobayashi Kiyochika (小林清親).
Late Autumn Calm on the Sumida River depicts landscapes.