Night Scenes Prints (954)
Night scenes (yozora or yoru no keshiki) are among the most technically demanding and atmospherically compelling subjects in Japanese woodblock printmaking. The challenge of rendering darkness, artificial light, moonlight, and their interactions with architecture and landscape pushed printmakers to develop distinctive techniques that have no parallel in other print traditions. The tradition begins with Hiroshige's pioneering nocturnal views in "One Hundred Famous Views of Edo," where deep indigo skies, lantern-lit windows, and moonlit water created moody compositions that transcended topographic documentation. These techniques were refined by Meiji-era artists and reached their fullest expression in shin-hanga, where night scenes became a signature subject. Tsuchiya Koitsu became the foremost specialist in nocturnal views, producing prints that captured the warm glow of paper lanterns against deep blue-black skies with extraordinary subtlety. Kawase Hasui's night scenes, including his famous views of snow-covered landscapes under moonlight, achieved a contemplative stillness that epitomizes the shin-hanga aesthetic. The printing of night scenes required exceptional skill from the printer (surishi), who had to control multiple gradations of deep pigments and subtle light effects through precise pressure and moisture during the impression process.
Artists Known for Night Scenes
The Moon over Gojo Bridge (Gojo no tsuki), from the series "Heroes for the Snow, Moon, and Flowers (Buyu setsugekka)"
1867
Color woodblock print; oban diptych
Gravemarker Moon
1886
Woodblock Print
Moon of Kintoki's Mountain
October 1890
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Chofu Village Moon
1891
Woodblock Print
Musashi Plain Moon
1891
Woodblock Print
Benkei and the Moon at Daimotsunoura
1886
The Moon at Takakura
description
Woodblock print
Inaba Mountain Moon
1885
Woodblock Print
Moon and Engaku Temple
Woodblock print
Sunrise Rite
1928
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
#31 Kabuki-za at night
Woodblock print
Sunset at Tsukishima
Woodblock print
Dawn at Takegawa Rapids
Woodblock print
Two Geese and the Moon
Woodblock print
Autumn Moon at Ishiyama Temple
1933
Color woodblock print
Autumn Moon at Ishiyamadera
Woodblock print
Sunset at Tomonotsu, Inland Sea
1940
Color woodblock print
Spring Evening at Kiyomizu-dera
Woodblock print
Sunset — 夕焼け
Woodblock print
Sealion Series: Moon over Sea
2023
Mokuhanga
(Houseboat and moon)
c. 1854-1859
Woodblock print
Pagoda and Crows at Sunset
Woodblock print
Nagahama At Sunset - 長浜夕景
1996
Woodblock print
Sunset at Suez
Woodblock print
Favourable Sunset wind — 晩照順風
Woodblock print
Moon Seen Beyond Shinagawa
1884
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Sunset at Tomonotsu, Inland Sea
Woodblock print
Autumn Full Moon
Woodblock print
The Hidden Moon (Kakureta tsuki)
1959
Color woodblock print; edition 19/50
Bamboo Grove Under a Crescent Moon - 月下竹林
1950
Watercolor
Hazy moon
Woodblock print
Moon Flower
Woodblock print
Moon Rising
Woodblock print
August- Moon — Hachi-gatsu: Tsuki
Woodblock print
Tanuki under the Moon
Woodblock print
Taj Mahal at Dawn
1916
Drawing
Taj Mahal Sunset
1919
Woodblock print
Dawn of Naruto
Woodblock print
Mt Myoko-zan at dawn
Woodblock print
Wind and Moon
Woodblock print
Wind Moon
Woodblock print
Winds and Moon
Woodblock print
Cranefly Moon
2016
Mokuhanga
Moon at Nijo Castle - 二条城の月
Woodblock print
No Series Favourable Sunset Wind
Woodblock print
New Moon (From Yoshitoshi Series)
2011
Mokuhanga
Sealion Series: Sunset at Sea
2023
Mokuhanga
Maiko Admiring the Moon
Woodblock print
Two Mallards in Water Between Reeds and a Full Moon
1920s
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Two White Rabbits Under a Full Moon
c. 1928–1930
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper with embossing
Return Night
Woodblock print
No. 129 - Evening Scene of Sagano
嵯峨野の夕景
Silkscreen (serigraph)
Unknown- Japanese house at sunset
Woodblock print
Dawn, Lyell Fork (Tuolumne: Yosemite, Book I)
Color woodcut on handmade Japanese washi
Dawn Blooming
2017
Dawn Blooming II
2015
Nihonga Painting
Twilight in Kyoto
Woodblock print
Midnight - Ichimokushu Vol 6
Woodblock print
Dawn
Etching
Boats at Sunset
Woodblock print
Related Subjects
Frequently Asked Questions
Night scenes (yozora or yoru no keshiki) are among the most technically demanding and atmospherically compelling subjects in Japanese woodblock printmaking. The challenge of rendering darkness, artificial light, moonlight, and their interactions with architecture and landscape pushed printmakers to develop distinctive techniques that have no parallel in other print traditions.
Kawase Hasui, Kobayashi Kiyochika, and Takahashi Shotei are among the artists most associated with night scenes in our collection. Browse the full list of artists who explored this subject above.
Hanga currently catalogues 954 prints tagged with night scenes, spanning ukiyo-e, shin-hanga, and sōsaku-hanga traditions where applicable.