Picture of Barge-haulers at Night in Koume, Tokyo

Date:: August 1876
Medium:: Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Format:: Oban
Dimensions:: 24.1 × 36 cm
Source:: Minneapolis Institute of Art

Description

Barge-haulers work by night along the Koume canal in eastern Tokyo in this August 1876 nishiki-e — one of Kiyochika's earliest dated Tokyo prints. The print predates his formal Tokyo meisho series by a year and already shows the distinctive nocturnal interest that would define his mature career: lanterns illuminate the figures working the towpaths, their reflections in the canal water creating doubled pools of warm light against the surrounding darkness. Koume, in the Sumida delta, was industrial hinterland in 1876, and this print captures its working waterfront before Meiji urban development consumed it.

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More Night Scenes Prints

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Frequently Asked Questions

Picture of Barge-haulers at Night in Koume, Tokyo was created by Kobayashi Kiyochika (小林清親) in August 1876.

Picture of Barge-haulers at Night in Koume, Tokyo depicts night scenes, set at Tokyo.

Picture of Barge-haulers at Night in Koume, Tokyo measures 24.1 × 36 cm (Oban format).