Moonlight at Yasaka likely captures the iconic Yasaka Pagoda in Kyoto's Higashiyama district bathed in silvery lunar glow. Asano's nocturnal scenes require especially precise bokashi shading to achieve convincing light effects, and this technical accomplishment is reflected in prices of $200-$600. Night scenes are among his most atmospheric and collectible subjects.
Moonlight at Yasaka presents one of Kyoto's most prominent landmarks — Yasaka Shrine (also called Gion Shrine), guardian of the Gion district — bathed in the particular silver light of the moon. The shrine's graceful Gion-zukuri style main hall, with its distinctive roofline and the pagoda tower visible from the path through Maruyama Park, was a subject Asano returned to across multiple atmospheric conditions. By night, lit by moonlight, the shrine took on a quality of suspended, dreamlike beauty distinct from its daytime appearance as a busy urban landmark.
![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.
Moonlight at Yasaka (八坂月光) was created by Takeji Asano (浅野竹二).
Moonlight at Yasaka uses Bokashi, Nishiki-e, and Moku-hanga, on woodblock print.
Moonlight at Yasaka was published by Unsodo.
Moonlight at Yasaka depicts moonlight and night scenes.
