Hanga
(Houseboat and moon) by Tsuruya Kokei — Japanese Woodblock print, c. 1854-1859

(Houseboat and moon)

by Tsuruya Kokei

Contemporary MokuhangaSōsaku-hanga
MoonlightNight Scenes
Date:
c. 1854-1859
Medium:
Woodblock print

Description

Houseboat and Moon depicts a yakatabune (roofed pleasure boat) floating on still water beneath a luminous moon, a scene steeped in Edo-period leisure culture when wealthy merchants and artists would hire such boats for evening poetry gatherings and banquets on the Sumida River. The moon's reflection on the water doubles its presence, creating a vertical axis of light that anchors the composition. Kokei's woodblock rendering distills this nostalgic subject into clean forms, the dark hull of the houseboat silhouetted against silver water while the moon commands the upper register with quiet authority.

More Prints by Tsuruya Kokei

Kataoka Nizaemon XIII as Ishikawa Goemon in the play Sanmon Gosan no Kiri by Tsuruya Kokei

Kataoka Nizaemon XIII as Ishikawa Goemon in the play Sanmon Gosan no Kiri

Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)

The Tayu (High-ranking Courtesan) by Tsuruya Kokei

The Tayu (High-ranking Courtesan)

Woodblock print on ganpi paper with mica

Onoe Baiko VII as Masaoka 七世尾上梅幸の乳人政岡 / Bust portraits VIII (Design 4) 第八期大首絵シリーズの４ by Tsuruya Kokei

Onoe Baiko VII as Masaoka 七世尾上梅幸の乳人政岡 / Bust portraits VIII (Design 4) 第八期大首絵シリーズの４

Woodblock print

Ichikawa Danshiro IV as Akushichibyoe Kagekiyo by Tsuruya Kokei

Ichikawa Danshiro IV as Akushichibyoe Kagekiyo

Woodblock print on ganpi paper with mica

More Moonlight 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

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)" by Kawase Hasui

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

Matsushima in Moonlight (Tsuki no Matsushima) by Kawase Hasui

Matsushima in Moonlight (Tsuki no Matsushima)

1919

Color woodblock print

Kiyozumi Garden in Moonlight by Kawase Hasui

Kiyozumi Garden in Moonlight

January 1938

Woodblock print, ink and color on paper

Featured in Collections

Curated cross-cuts that include this print.

Sōsaku-Hanga: The Creative-Print Movement

Frequently Asked Questions

(Houseboat and moon) was created by Tsuruya Kokei (弦屋光溪) in c. 1854-1859.

(Houseboat and moon) depicts moonlight and night scenes.