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
![Misty Night at Miyajima (Oboroyo [Miyajima]), from the series Souvenirs of Travel II (Tabi miyage dai nishû) by Kawase Hasui](https://data.ukiyo-e.org/mfa/images/sc205592.jpg)
Misty Night at Miyajima (Oboroyo [Miyajima]), from the series Souvenirs of Travel II (Tabi miyage dai nishû)
Woodblock print
![Ichinokura at Ikegami, Evening (Ikegami Ichinokura [sekiyo]), from the series Twenty Views of Tokyo (Tôkyô nijûkei) by Kawase Hasui](https://data.ukiyo-e.org/mfa/images/sc205768.jpg)
Ichinokura at Ikegami, Evening (Ikegami Ichinokura [sekiyo]), from the series Twenty Views of Tokyo (Tôkyô nijûkei)
Woodblock print
Evening Rain at Kawarago (Kawarago no yau)
Woodblock print
Moon at Magome (Magome no tsuki), from the series Twenty Views of Tokyo (Tôkyô nijûkei )
Woodblock print
Evening View at Otemon Gate in Spring
Woodblock print
Evening Sun
Woodblock print
Dawn at Hyappongui, Ryogoku, Tokyo
Woodblock print
Distant Sunset from Meguro, from the series One-Hundred Views of Musashi Province
Woodblock print
A Hundred Views of Musashi: Moon Beyond Shinagawa
Woodblock print
Hazy Moon at Ushimachi, Takanawa
Woodblock print
Dawn at Yakumo Shrine, Kanda, from
Woodblock print
Dawn at Kanda (Yagumo Myöjin) Shrine
Woodblock print
Rain and Moonlight at Gohommatsu
Woodblock print
Sunrise at Hyapponkui at Ryögoku in Tokyo
Woodblock print
Nightly View of Hiki-fune at Koume in Tokyo
Woodblock print
Full Moon at Akashi Beach
Woodblock print
Evening View of the Hashiba Ferry, Tokyo — 東京橋場渡黄昏景
Woodblock print
Sunset at Yanagishima — 柳島日没
Woodblock print
Moonlight Sea at Kawasaki — 川崎月海
Woodblock print
Dawn at Ryogoku Hyappongui, Tokyo — 東京両国百本抗暁の図
Woodblock print
Evening View of Hashiba — 橋場の夕暮
Woodblock print
Summer Moon at Imado — 今戸夏月
Woodblock print
A Summer Evening at Asakusa Kuramae — 浅草蔵前夏夜
Woodblock print
Evening View of Kandagawa — 神田川夕景
Woodblock print
Kani Ichita watching a night battle in the sea
Woodblock print
Night scene of Do-ga-shima
Woodblock print
Night Scene of Nihonbashi
Woodblock print
Morning Moon 3
Woodblock print
Morning Moon 50
Woodblock print
Morning Moon 59
Woodblock print
Morning Moon 82
Woodblock print
Morning Moon 86
Woodblock print
Morning Moon 90
Woodblock print
Morning Moon 91
Woodblock print
Morning Moon N — 浅月
Woodblock print
Morning Moon N — 浅月
Woodblock print
A Moon Sixteen Days Old
Woodblock print
Cherry Blossoms at Night in Maruyama Park in Kyoto
Woodblock print
Cherry Blossoms at Night- Maruyama Park
Woodblock print
Cherry Blossoms at Night- Maruyama Park
Woodblock print
Cherry Blossoms at Night- Maruyama Park
Woodblock print
Cherry Blossoms at Night- Maruyama Park
Woodblock print
Cherry Blossoms at Night- Maruyama Park
Woodblock print
The Evening Sun
Woodblock print
YUHI B (evening sun B)
Woodblock print
YUHI (evening sun)
Woodblock print
YUUHI (the evening sun)
Woodblock print
Endless Night
Woodblock print
Night at Ikenohata 10/100
Woodblock print
Crescent Moon over Hyapponkui
1881–89
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
True Pictures of Famous Places in Tokyo: New Moon Over the One Hundred Piles
Woodblock print
True Pictures of Famous Places in Tokyo: The Moon over Yushima Seido Temple
Woodblock print
Unknown- Japanese house at sunset
Woodblock print
Boat in Sunset
Woodblock print
Boat in Sunset- night — 帆かけ舟
Woodblock print
The Night Fortune Teller
Woodblock print
Full moon view at Kiyomize Temple
Not set
Woodblock print
Castle in the moon
22/300, 1978
Woodblock print
The Moon Night
Woodblock print
Evening Crescent Moon at Kôbe (Kôbe no Yoizuki), Taishô period, dated 1920
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.