Plum Blossoms at Night — 夜の梅
- Date:
- 1934
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Format:
- Oban
- Publisher:
- Watanabe Shozaburo
- Edition:
- Published by Watanabe Shozaburo
- Source:
- Japanese Art Open Database
Description
A woman stands in the darkness of a winter night, the bare branches of a plum tree in bloom behind her — white flowers against the deep night sky in the brief season when plum blossoms precede snow's final retreat. The title Yoru no Ume — "plum blossoms at night" — names a visual experience unique to the Japanese winter: the sight of delicate white flowers open in cold darkness, their fragrance intensified by the chill. Kotondo renders the nocturnal atmosphere through deep bokashi gradations.
More Prints by Torii Kotondo
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 Blossoms at Night — 夜の梅 was created by Torii Kotondo (鳥居言人) in 1934.
Plum Blossoms at Night — 夜の梅 uses Bokashi, on woodblock print.
Plum Blossoms at Night — 夜の梅 was published by Watanabe Shozaburo (1934).
Plum Blossoms at Night — 夜の梅 depicts night scenes and food & drink.