Moonlight Prints (434)
Moon-lit scenes (tsuki) and lunar compositions in Japanese woodblock prints. Moonlight prints use dramatic tonal contrasts to evoke atmosphere, from full moons over castle towers to crescent moons reflected in still water.
Artists Known for Moonlight

Autumn Moon at the Temple Ishiyamadera from the series Fashionable Eight Views
c. 1814–17
Color woodblock print, ink and color on paper

Cuckoo and Moon (surimono)
月下時鳥摺物
1865
Woodblock print (surimono); ink and color on paper with metallic pigments

Snow, from the series "Snow, Moon, and Flowers of the Floating World (Ukiyo setsugekka)"
c. 1784/85
Color woodblock print; oban

The Actor Onoe Kikugoro V as the Priest Sogen (Yuki: Iwakura Sogen Onoe Baiko), from the series "Snow, Moon, and Flowers (Setsugekka no uchi)"
1890
Color woodblock prints; oban triptych

Small-horned owl, pine, and crescent moon
1830s
Color woodblock print; chutanzaku

Moonlight View of Suihiro Bridge, Tempozan
1838
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

Trees in Moonlight

Bright Moon Night
月夜図
1912
Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk

Castle, Moon & Birds

Morning Glories, Pinks, and Maiden Flower, from the series "Seven Autumn Flowers in Moonlight"
1830/44
Color woodblock print; uchiwa-e

Bat Flying Over the Moon
ca. 1824
Hanging scroll; ink on paper

Crossing a River on a Moonlit Night
c. 1775
Color woodblock print; hashira-e

The Actors Otani Hiroemon III as Shinagawa Okaminosuke (right), and Ichikawa Danjuro V as Arashishi Otokonosuke (left), in the Play Fuki Kaete Tsuki mo Yoshiwara (Rethatched Roof: The Moon also Shines Over the Yoshiwara Pleasure District), Performed at the Morita Theater in the Eleventh Month, 1771
c. 1771/72
Color woodblock print; from the illustrated book Yakusha Kuni no Hana (Prominent Actors of Japan)

A Full Moon

Moon Cherry Blossoms

Rabbits under full moon
c. 1830s
Color woodblock print; chutanzaku

Returning Junks - Seto Inland Sea in Moonlight

Chrysanthemums and the Rising Moon
c. 1766
Color woodblock print; chuban

Viewing the Moon
c. 1767/68
Color woodblock print; chuban

Autumn Moon at Seto (Seto shugetsu), from the series "Eight Views of Kanazawa (Kanazawa hakkei)"
c. 1835/36
Color woodblock print; oban

Moon, from the series "Snow, Moon, and Flowers of the Floating World (Ukiyo setsugekka)"
c. 1784/85
Color woodblock print; oban

Actor Ichikawa Danjûrô V as the Buddhist Deity Fudô in “Rethatched Roof: The Moon Also Shines over the Yoshiwara Pleasure District” (“Fuke Kaete Tsuki mo Yoshiwara”)
About 1771
Color woodblock print; hosoban

Shirahama 'Engetsuto' ('Round Moon Island' at Shirahama) / Shin Nihon hyakkei 新日本百景 (One Hundred New Views of Japan, No. 35)

Twilight Moon at the Ryogoku Bridge (Ryogoku no yoizuki), from the series "Famous Views of the Eastern Capital (Toto Meisho)"
c. 1831
Color woodblock print; oban

Moon over Ryogoku Bridge in Summer (Natsu Ryogoku no tsuki), from the series "Famous Places in Edo in the Four Seasons (Shiki Koto meisho)"
c. 1832/34
Color woodblock print; chutanzaku

Misty Moonlight on the Shore at Tsukuda Island (Tsukudajima kaihen oborozuki), from the series "Famous Places in the Eastern Capital (Toto meisho)"
c. 1835/38
Color woodblock print; chutanzaku

Autumn Moon at New Yoshiwara in Emonzaka (Shin Yoshiwara Emonzaka shugetsu), from the series "Famous Views of the Eastern Capital (Toto meisho)"
c. 1835/38
Color woodblock print; chu-tanzaku

Pine Tree and Full Moon
松に満月図
ca. 1880-1890
Color woodblock print

Moonlight over Lake Kamo, Sado
August 16, 1921
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper

Murasaki Shikibu: Bird, from the series "Famous Women and Their Poems on Flowers, Birds, Wind, and Moon (Meifu eika kacho fugetsu)"
c. 1805
Color woodblock print; oban

Evening View of the Eight Famous Places near Kanazawa Under Full Moon in Musashi Province
1857
One of a triptych of color woodblock prints

Moonlight at Ryogoku
1856

Evening Moon at Izumizaki (Izumizaki yagetsu), from the series “Eight Views of Ryukyu Islands (Ryukyu hakkei)”
c. 1832
Color woodblock print

The Minister Toru Daijin Standing by a Lake Beneath a Crescent Moon, from the series A True Mirror of Chinese and Japanese Poetry
1834–35
color woodblock print

Autumn Moon over Ishiyama Temple (Ishiyama shugetsu), from the series "Eight Views of Omi (Omi hakkei)"
1857
Color woodblock print; oban

Sketch for Autumn Moon at Ishiyama Temple (Ishiyama no shugetsu), from the series "Eight Views in Omi Province (Omi hakkei)"
c. 1859
Ink on paper

Full Moon on Kanazawa, Musashi
1857
One of a triptych of color woodblock prints

Moon-Mad Monk
1789
Courtesan Kiyokawa, Karigane Bunshichi, and Kaminari Shōkurō from the series Models of Love Talk: Clouds Form Over the Moon (Chiwa kagami tsuki no murakumo)
c. 1798-1800 (Kansei 10-Kansei 12)
Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper

Woman (Bijin) Looking at the Moon's Reflection, from the series Mu Tamagawa
mid-1700s
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

A Party Viewing the Moon Across the Sumida River
c. 1787
Color woodblock print; oban triptych

Rabbits in moonlight
c. 1849/52
Color woodblock print; uchiwa-e

A Courtesan and Attendant on a Moonlit Veranda
1765-1770

Wild Geese Flying Across Full Moon
late 1830s
Color woodblock print; aitanzaku

Moon, from the series "Snow, Moon, and Flower in a Cool Breeze (Furyo setsugekka no uchi)"
Early to mid-18th century
Color woodblock print; uchiwa-e

Bush Warbler on a Plum Tree in Moonlight
ca. 1840-1842

Two Courtesans on a Moonlit Balcony at a House of Pleasure in Shinagawa, from the series "Nan'eki Shufu"
c. 1774
Color woodblock print; oban
FLOWERS, BIRDS, WINDS AND MOON (Kachō fūgetsu)
Late Edo period,
Ukiyo-e woodblock print in "ōban" format; ink and color on paper

Landscape with Ferry Boat, Geese and Full Moon
early 1830s
color woodblock print

Moonlight on the Yodo River (Yodogawa), from the series "Snow, Moon and Flowers (Setsugekka)"
c. 1833
Color woodblock print; oban
Autumn Moon Over the Ryōgoku Bridge (Ryōgoku no shūgetsu), from the series Eight Fashionable Views of Edo (Fūryū Tōto hakkei)
Late Edo period, circa 1803-1805
Woodblock print (surimono); ink and color on paper

Moonrise Over the Nihon Embankment and the Yoshiwara
1790
color woodblock print

Eight Indoor Scenes (Zashiki Hakkei): A Mirror Stand-The Autumn Moon (Kyôdai no shûgetsu)

Shinano Province: The Moon Reflected in the Sarashina Rice Fields near Mount Kyôdai (Shinano, Sarashina tagoto no tsuki, Kyōdaisan), from the series Famous Places in the Sixty-Odd Provinces (Rokujūyoshū meisho zue)
1853
Color woodblock print; ōban

Autumn Moon at Matsuchiyama
1843-1847

Autumn Moon of Matsukaze
1765-70

Yoshino, from the series "Snow, Moon and Flowers (Setsugekka)"
c. 1833
Color woodblock print; oban

A Cuckoo Against the Moon
c. 1843/46
Color woodblock print; uchiwa-e

Snow at Benzaiten Shrine in Inokashira Pond (Inokashira no ike Benzaiten no yashiro yuki no kei), from the series "Snow, Moon, and Flowers at Famous Places (Meisho setsugekka)"
c. 1844/45
Color woodblock print; oban

Clear Skies after Snow--Ryogoku in Moonlight
1843-1847
Related Subjects
Frequently Asked Questions
Moon-lit scenes (tsuki) and lunar compositions in Japanese woodblock prints. Moonlight prints use dramatic tonal contrasts to evoke atmosphere, from full moons over castle towers to crescent moons reflected in still water.
Utagawa Hiroshige, Kawase Hasui, and Tsukioka Yoshitoshi are among the artists most associated with moonlight in our collection. Browse the full list of artists who explored this subject above.
Hanga currently catalogues 434 prints tagged with moonlight, spanning ukiyo-e, shin-hanga, and sōsaku-hanga traditions where applicable.



