
Dusk- Tasogare — たそがれ
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Format:
- Oban
- Publisher:
- Watanabe Shozaburo
- Source:
- Japanese Art Open Database
Description
Dusk, or Tasogare, takes its title from the Japanese word for twilight, that liminal interval when daylight has faded but true darkness has not yet arrived. In Japanese literary tradition, tasogare carries a melancholic undertone, recalling the classical phrase "taso kare," meaning "who is that?" -- a question asked when failing light makes it impossible to recognize passersby.
Shuho translates this evocative concept into a visual scene. The figure exists within the blue-gray tonal range of fading daylight, her features softened by the dimming atmosphere. The oban woodblock format allowed the printer to build up the subtle gradations of twilight color through careful bokashi shading, where wet pigment is graduated across the block's surface before pressing. This technique produces the smooth tonal transitions essential to conveying the specific quality of light between day and night.
More Prints by Yamakawa Shuho
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
Dusk- Tasogare — たそがれ was created by Yamakawa Shuho (山川秀峰).
Dusk- Tasogare — たそがれ was published by Watanabe Shozaburo.
Dusk- Tasogare — たそがれ depicts night scenes.



