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
Before the Dawn
2020
Acrylic on canvas
Breaking Dawn
2017
Acrylic on canvas
Nighttime Stage
2025
Oil on Dibond
The Moondrunk
2018
Japanese Paper, Sumi-Ink
Night Rain at Yokohama City
Woodblock print
Electric Sunrise
2019
Reduction Linocut on Japanese Paper
Village night scene
Woodblock print
The Moon from Suma Beach — 須磨海岸の月
Woodblock print
The Moon from Suma Beach — 須磨海岸の月
Woodblock print
The Moon from Suma Beach - 須磨海岸の月
Woodblock print
Moon and Cherry Blossoms
Woodblock print
Moon and Flowers — 月華
Woodblock print
Scops Owl in Flight, Cherry Blossoms and Full Moon
Shōwa period, 1926
Woodblock print in "ōban" format; ink and color on paper
Sunset at Tsukishima
Woodblock print
Butterflies at Dawn
1978
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Harvest Moon
Woodblock print
Boy and Rooster in Moonlight, Shôwa period, dated 1959
Woodblock print
Head of Moon Goddess
Woodblock print
The Goat Trail, Black's Beach: Moonrise
2021
Japanese Woodblock Print
The Steps at Black's Beach: Sunset
2020
Color woodblock print
Moaning Moon
Mixed media collage on board
Moon Temple
Mokuhanga and etching with hand colouring
Montmartre at Night
Woodblock print
Moon
Woodblock print
Elegant Moon
2021
Resin & Iron & Sticker
Moon For Love
2021
Resin & Iron & Sticker
Autumn Grasses and The Moon
2024
Foil, etching, woodblock, Japanese paper, chine collé
Full Moon with Crow on Plum Branch
1880s
color woodblock print
Moon Crest
2016
Illuminated Paperworks
Moonsong-1
Woodblock print
Evening moon at Nakanoshima
Woodblock print
Dawn
2011
Woodcut, mokuhanga woodblock, watercolor, wax
Two Crows on a Branch Overlooking Asakusa at Dawn
1883
Hanging scroll: ink and color on silk
Seven suns & seven moons
2020
Woodblock,Other
Still moons, 24.03.20 - 23.05.20
2021
Woodblock
The moon and the sledgehammer
2016
Serigraphy, woodcut and chine collé
Sea and Moon
1961
At Sand City Lovers Whisper at Dawn
Woodblock print
Radiata Moon
2023
Multi-Block Linocut Relief Print
Bandaibashi asahi hinode (Sunrise at Bandaibashi)
Woodblock print
SHIROIKI AKEBONO (White tree dawn)
Woodblock print
Full Moon over Matsuyama Castle (Matsuyamajo meigetsu)
December 1953
Color woodblock print
Time and Tide | Sliver Moon
2024
Monotype print on washi
Moon through Rain at Gohan Matsu — 五本松雨月
Woodblock print
Summer Moon at Iwado
1881
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Sunrise at Hyappongui, Ryōgoku, Tokyo
1879 (Meiji 12)
Woodblock print (nishiki-e): ink and color on paper
Sunset at the Mukojima Hyappon-Kui — 向島百本杭の夕焼
Woodblock print
White Moon
Woodblock print
Nichibotsu (Sunset)
1937
Woodblock print
C7- Moonrise at Tokumochi
Woodblock print
Sunset in Menado, Calebes
1938
Color woodblock print on paper under glass
Hunter Moon
2020
Japanese woodcut
Hunter's Moon
2020
Japanese Woodcut
New Moon
2020
Monotype
Moontrance
Evening Moon at Hongan Temple, Tsukiji
Woodblock print
Brett's Nightmare: A Jury of His Peers
2024
Color woodblock
Work 616 - Moon and Bird
1961
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Evening Moon at Nakanoshima Park- Sapporo
Woodblock print
Moon Over Miyajima
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.