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Sunset at Yanagishima — 柳島日没 by Kobayashi Kiyochika — Japanese Woodblock print

Sunset at Yanagishima — 柳島日没

by Kobayashi Kiyochika

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

Description

Yanagishima (Willow Island) in Honjo was a low-lying district of canals, willows, and the Myoken temple, popular as a destination for Edo residents. Kiyochika's 柳島日没 (Yanagishima nichi-botsu, 'Yanagishima Sunset') renders the scene at the moment of maximum chromatic intensity before dusk. The flat, reflective water surfaces of the district's canals mirror the sunset sky, doubling the warm color field. Willow branches trailing toward the water provide organic lines against the geometric reflections below. Kiyochika used multiple printing passes to achieve the layered warm tones of a Meiji-era sunset, building from yellow through orange to the deeper red at the horizon edge. The print is part of his ongoing documentation of Tokyo's eastern lowland districts before modernization altered them.

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

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More Night Scenes Prints

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Evening in East Africa

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

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1921

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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

Sunset at Yanagishima — 柳島日没 was created by Kobayashi Kiyochika (小林清親).

Sunset at Yanagishima — 柳島日没 depicts night scenes.