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Summer Moon at Imado — 今戸夏月 by Kobayashi Kiyochika — Japanese Woodblock print

Summer Moon at Imado — 今戸夏月

by Kobayashi Kiyochika

Meiji/Taishō Prints
Night Scenes
Medium:
Woodblock print
Image courtesy of
Japanese Art Open Database

Description

Imado was a district on the eastern bank of the Sumida in Asakusa, and this nocturne from the series 'Light Pictures of Tokyo' (Tokyo meisho zue) depicts it under summer moonlight. Kiyochika's handling of nocturnal scenes was unprecedented in the woodblock tradition: rather than the conventional blue-wash night of ukiyo-e, he modeled darkness through layered printing and reserved bright areas for reflected or emitted light. The summer moon provides a fixed light source whose reflection on the river surface and illumination of riverside buildings or kiln structures — Imado was known for its earthenware kilns — creates the tonal drama characteristic of his kosen-ga work. Insects, water plants, and the warm humid atmosphere of a Tokyo summer night are likely evoked through compositional sparseness.

More Prints by Kobayashi Kiyochika

The Bureau of Industry Building at Kammeidome by Kobayashi Kiyochika

The Bureau of Industry Building at Kammeidome

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View of Ariakero, Imado, from by Kobayashi Kiyochika

View of Ariakero, Imado, from

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Taro Inari Shrine at the Asakusa Ricefields — 浅草田甫太郎稲荷 by Kobayashi Kiyochika

Taro Inari Shrine at the Asakusa Ricefields — 浅草田甫太郎稲荷

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The great victory of our Naval forces near Phung-to in Korea by Kobayashi Kiyochika

The great victory of our Naval forces near Phung-to in Korea

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More Night Scenes Prints

E

Evening in East Africa

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E

Evening Shower at Teradomari (Teradomari no yau), from the series "Souvenirs of Travel, Second Series (Tabi miyage dai nishu)"

Teradomari no yau

1921

Color woodblock print; oban

Mount Fuji on a Moonlit Night, Kawai Bridge (Tsukiyo no Fuji [Kawaibashi]), from the series "Selection of Views of the Tokaido (Tokaido fukei senshu)" by Kawase Hasui

Mount Fuji on a Moonlit Night, Kawai Bridge (Tsukiyo no Fuji [Kawaibashi]), from the series "Selection of Views of the Tokaido (Tokaido fukei senshu)"

1947

Color woodblock print; oban

Evening Moon at Nakanoshima, Sapporo (Sapporo Nakanoshima no yuzuki), from the series "Collection of Views of Japan, Eastern Japan Edition (Nihon fukei shu higashi Nihon hen)" by Kawase Hasui

Evening Moon at Nakanoshima, Sapporo (Sapporo Nakanoshima no yuzuki), from the series "Collection of Views of Japan, Eastern Japan Edition (Nihon fukei shu higashi Nihon hen)"

March 1933

Color woodblock print; oban

Frequently Asked Questions

Summer Moon at Imado — 今戸夏月 was created by Kobayashi Kiyochika (小林清親).

Summer Moon at Imado — 今戸夏月 depicts night scenes.