a town as the moon is rising over the mountains
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Source:
- Japanese Art Open Database
- Image courtesy of
- Japanese Art Open Database
This meisho-e composition depicts a mountain town at dusk or evening as the moon crests the ridgeline above, a subject that allowed Okumura to deploy the atmospheric graduated shading — bokashi — central to his practice. The interplay of residual twilight on the mountain peaks against the darkening valley below would have demanded precise tonal gradation across multiple blocks. Rooftops and the geometry of a settled community occupy the middle ground, grounding the celestial drama in everyday life. Printed by Unsodo, this composition exemplifies the shin-hanga movement's interest in capturing transient light effects with the technical precision of the woodblock medium, where multiple printings of diluted ink layers on damp washi paper build the soft luminosity characteristic of Okumura's nocturnal and twilight subjects.
Wakasa Kugushiko
1920
Color woodblock print; oban
Woodblock print
1934
Color woodblock print; oban
n.d.
Woodblock print; ishizuri-e, section of harimaze sheet
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
a town as the moon is rising over the mountains was created by Okumura Koichi (奥村厚一).
a town as the moon is rising over the mountains depicts landscapes.
