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
Rainy Night at Maekawa — 相州前川の雨
Woodblock print
"Moonlight at Sanzenin Shrine, Kyoto. SANZEN'IN SHRINE, OHARA, KYOTO"
Woodblock print
Night Scene at Soemoncho
Woodblock print
Spring Moon at Ninomiya Beach
Woodblock print
MOONLIGHT NIGHT AT MIYAJIMA
Woodblock print
Evening showers at Matsunoshima
Woodblock print
Rainy Night on the Pine Islet Matsunoshima
Woodblock print
Night Scene at Sakurada Gate, Tokyo- V1
Woodblock print
Sunset at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo
Woodblock print
Matsushima by Moonlight
Woodblock print
Eastern Moon
Woodblock print
Moonlight at Miyajima
Woodblock print
Moon
Woodblock print
SHIROI TSUKI (white moon)
Woodblock print
TSUKI TO BUDO (moon and grapes)
Woodblock print
Summer Twilight at Ikano, Taishô period, dated 1919
Woodblock print
Evening Shower at Imaibashi (Imaibashi no yûdachi), Shôwa period, dated 1932
Woodblock print
Moon and Bamboo
Nihonga (natural mineral pigments) on silk
Moon, 2002
Woodblock print
Starlit Night, Miyajima
Woodblock print
Myokozan in Sunset
Woodblock print
Twilight in Hamarikyu
Woodblock print
Night Scene at Sakurada Gate, Tokyo- V2
Woodblock print
Night View of Cherry Blossoms at Koganei
Woodblock print
Treasuring The Moon
2020
Etching/woodblock
MoonShine Starshine
2020
Intaglio printed on handmade mulberry paper
Starlit Night - Miyajima Shrine — 星月夜（宮島）
Woodblock print
Sunset at Tomonotsu, Inland Sea
Woodblock print
Hazy night at Miyajima - Oboroyo (Miyajima)
Woodblock print
NIGHT RAIN AT KAWARAKO, IBARAKI
Woodblock print
Full Moon over Magome
Woodblock print
Spring Night at Inokashira
Woodblock print
Starry Night at Tsubosaka Temple, Nara
Woodblock print
Twelve Scenes of Tokyo: Dusk at Kiba (Tokyo Junikkei: Kiba no yugure)
Woodblock print
Souvenirs of Travel, Third Series: Matsue in Izumo: Hazy Moon (Tabi miyage dai sanshu: Izumo Matsue: Oborozuki)
Woodblock print
Night at Shinobazu Pond
Woodblock print
Sunset at Nenoyama
Woodblock print
Moon at Goura, Ibaragi- Isura- Izura
Woodblock print
Rainy Night at Shinobazu Pond
Woodblock print
Hazy Moon at Ushimachi (Takanawa Ushimachi ryôgetsu kei), Meiji period, dated 1879
Woodblock print
Picture of the Sunrise at Hyapongui, Ryôguku, Edo (Toto Ryôgoku Hyapongui akatsuki no zu), Meiji period, dated 1879
Woodblock print
Moon, house, sea
Woodblock print
Night at the Pond Edge- Shinobazu Pond — 夜の池畔（不忍池）
Woodblock print
Moon at Matsushima
Woodblock print
Sunset- advance of the cavalry in Manchuria
Woodblock print
Twilight at Kiba Lumber Yard
Woodblock print
Moon and Country House
Woodblock print
Night at Shinkawa
Woodblock print
Evening View of Cherry Blossoms at Tosho Shrine, Ueno, Tokyo
Woodblock print
Night attack by our armed forces against the Chinese camp at Phyong-Yang —
Woodblock print
Moon over Off Kawasaki
Woodblock print
American Style Steam Engine: Moon over Takana
Woodblock print
Untitled- Night country scene
Woodblock print
Sunset at Ichinokura, Ikegami — 池上市之倉（夕陽）
Woodblock print
Moon over Matsuyama Castle
Woodblock print
Our Troops Landing in Taiwan in the Dead of Night (Wagagun shinya Taiwan jôriku no zu)
Woodblock print
Cherry blossom at Night (1)
Woodblock print
Moon on Musashi Plain
Woodblock print
Night Rain in Rakuhoku (Kyoto) - 洛北夜雨
Woodblock print
Plum and Moon
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.