Hanga
Night Rain by Komura Settai — Japanese Color woodblock print, 1940s printing of earlier design

Night Rain

by Komura Settai

Shin-hanga
Night ScenesRain
Date:
1940s printing of earlier design
Medium:
Color woodblock print
Format:
Oban

Description

Rain falls through darkness in this oban color woodblock print, its vertical lines of precipitation slicing through the composition with graphic force. Komura Settai renders the night rain as both natural phenomenon and design element, the parallel lines of falling water creating a visual rhythm across the print surface. The subject has a long pedigree in Japanese printmaking, from Hiroshige's famous rain scenes to Kawase Hasui's modern nocturnes. Settai's version strips the scene to its essentials, emphasizing the abstract pattern of rain against dark sky. The color woodblock process allowed the printer to build layers of translucent dark tones, creating depth within the darkness rather than a uniform black.

More Prints by Komura Settai

Willow (Aoyagi) by Komura Settai

Willow (Aoyagi)

c. 1940

Color woodblock print

#88 Scene from Act VII by Komura Settai

#88 Scene from Act VII

c. 1935

Woodblock print

A parody of Hanshin and Shide, two chinese monks by Komura Settai

A parody of Hanshin and Shide, two chinese monks

1941

Woodblock print

Autumn leaves by Komura Settai

Autumn leaves

Not set

Woodblock print

More Night Scenes Prints

E

Evening in East Africa

Woodblock print

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

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

Featured in Collections

Curated cross-cuts that include this print.

Shin-Hanga: Japan's Twentieth-Century Print Revival

Frequently Asked Questions

Night Rain was created by Komura Settai (小村雪岱) in 1940s printing of earlier design.

Night Rain was published by Watanabe Shozaburo (1940s printing of earlier design).

Night Rain depicts night scenes and rain.