Nocturne in Moonlight
- Medium:
- Water-based woodblock print on washi
- Dimensions:
- 16.5 × 26 cm
- Image courtesy of
- Awagami International Miniature Print Exhibition
Nocturne in Moonlight renders a night scene suffused with diffused lunar illumination, a subject that allows Tsugeno Harue to draw on both her mokuhanga practice and her musical background — the nocturne being a Western piano form associated with Chopin and lyrical introspection. The composition likely employs gradated [bokashi](/glossary/bokashi) washes to build the cool, layered tonality of moonlight, using the absorbent grain of [washi](/glossary/washi) to soften transitions between deep indigo and pale silver-grey. Water-based pigments applied with a [baren](/glossary/baren) over dampened handmade paper yield the characteristic luminous depth of this technique, allowing light to appear to emanate from within the sheet rather than sit on its surface. The restrained palette and quiet atmospheric quality reflect Tsugeno's training under Shigeyuki Kimura and her interest in translating musical phrasing — sustained tones, soft dynamics — into visual register. The title's explicit reference to the nocturne genre signals an intentional dialogue between printmaking and Western classical music.
![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
Nocturne in Moonlight was created by Tsugeno Harue (告野春恵).
Nocturne in Moonlight depicts moonlight and night scenes.
Nocturne in Moonlight measures 16.5 × 26 cm.