Men moving a cart at night
- Date:
- 1930s
- Medium:
- Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
- Format:
- Oban
- Dimensions:
- 5.6 × 7.6 cm
- Publisher:
- Watanabe Shozaburo
- Edition:
- Published by Watanabe Shozaburo
- Source:
- Minneapolis Institute of Art
Description
At night, men labor to move a heavily loaded cart through the streets — the physical effort of their work rendered by Shotei with an unusual directness for a shin-hanga print. The 1930s dating situates this within the modernizing Tokyo that still relied heavily on human-powered transport even as the city filled with motor vehicles and electric trams. The lamplight or gaslight that illuminates the workers' faces gives the scene its compositional center while the surrounding darkness amplifies the impression of nighttime physical effort.
More Prints by Takahashi Shotei
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
Men moving a cart at night was created by Takahashi Shotei (高橋松亭) in 1930s.
Men moving a cart at night uses Bokashi, on woodblock print, ink and color on paper.
Men moving a cart at night was published by Watanabe Shozaburo (1930s).
Men moving a cart at night depicts night scenes.
Men moving a cart at night measures 5.6 × 7.6 cm (Oban format).