Plum and Moon
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Source:
- Watanabe Print
- Image courtesy of
- Watanabe Print
Description
A classic kacho-e pairing of early-blooming plum blossoms against a night sky with a full or crescent moon. Plum (ume) signals the first break of winter in the Japanese seasonal calendar, and Kotozuka likely rendered the gnarled branches as bold silhouettes against a deep indigo or grey background built up through careful overprinting. Small clusters of white and pale pink blossoms would have been printed with minimal keyblock outlines, relying on flat color and subtle gradation. The composition draws on a convention stretching from Hiroshige through the shin-hanga movement, but Kotozuka's Kyoto sensibility tends toward quieter tonal restraint rather than dramatic contrast.
More Prints by Kotozuka Eiichi
More Night Scenes Prints
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)"
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](https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/d0960668-1e73-339a-b182-fb995a54bff0/full/843,/0/default.jpg)
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)"
March 1933
Color woodblock print; oban
Featured in Collections
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Frequently Asked Questions
Plum and Moon was created by Kotozuka Eiichi (琴塚英一).
Plum and Moon depicts night scenes.