Matsushima -- one of Japan's three most celebrated scenic views -- under moonlight is a subject with deep cultural resonance. Watanabe lifetime editions sell for $1,200-$3,000. The pine-covered islands silhouetted against the moonlit bay demonstrate why this location has inspired Japanese artists for centuries, and Kasamatsu's version ranks among the finest modern interpretations.
A full moon hangs over the pine-island panorama of Matsushima Bay, dated 1957, the moonlight silvering the water between the scattered islets. Kasamatsu returned to the Matsushima subject multiple times across his career, each version reflecting different conditions of moonrise, tide, and atmospheric clarity. The 1957 date places this in his postwar period, when he was working with greater freedom as a [sosaku-hanga](/glossary/sosaku-hanga) artist, and the composition may show a bolder chromatic approach to the moon-and-island subject than his prewar Watanabe prints.
![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)
1947
Color woodblock print; oban
March 1933
Color woodblock print; oban
1919
Color woodblock print
January 1938
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Moon over Matsushima (松島の月) was created by Shiro Kasamatsu (笠松紫浪) in 1957.
Moon over Matsushima uses Bokashi, Nishiki-e, and Moku-hanga, on woodblock print.
Moon over Matsushima was published by Watanabe Shozaburo (1957).
Moon over Matsushima depicts moonlight and night scenes, set at Matsushima.
Moon over Matsushima measures 36 × 24 cm (Oban format).
