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

Kawase Hasui

川瀬巴水

1883–1957

Kobayashi Kiyochika

小林清親

1847–1915

Takahashi Shotei

高橋松亭

1871–1945

Shiro Kasamatsu

笠松紫浪

1898–1991

Hiroshi Yoshida

吉田博

1876–1950

Tsukioka Yoshitoshi

月岡芳年

1839–1892

Evening Crescent Moon at Kôbe (Kôbe no Yoizuki), Taishô period, dated 1920

Woodblock print

Sunset Glow at Ishiyama

Woodblock print

Midnight, Shôwa period, dated 1959

Woodblock print

Morning Moon

Woodblock print

Beautiful night - moon and stars, Miyajima Shrine

Woodblock print

Canal by Moonlight

Woodblock print

Cherries at Night in Koganei (Koganei no Yozakura)

Woodblock print

Cherry Blossoms at Night, Koganei

Woodblock print

Crescent Moon at Matsue in Izumo Province (Izumo Matsue [mikkazuki]), from the series Souvenirs of Travel III (Tabi miyage dai sanshû)

Woodblock print

Dawn at Beppu

Woodblock print

Dusk At Taganoura Beach

Woodblock print

Dusk at Ushibori

Woodblock print

Dusk- Tasogare — たそがれ

Woodblock print

Evening at Byodoin Temple

Woodblock print

Evening at Itako — 潮来の夕暮

Woodblock print

Evening at Minano in Chichibu (Chichibu Minano no yû)

Woodblock print

Evening at Miyajima

Woodblock print

Evening at Sôemon-chô in Osaka (Ôsaka Sôemon-chô no yû), from the series Collected Views of Japan II, Kansai Edition (Nihon fûkei shû II Kansai hen)

Woodblock print

Evening at Tagonoura

Woodblock print

Evening at Tagonoura — Tago no Ura no Yuu

Woodblock print

Evening at the Lumber Yards of Kiba (Kiba no yûgure), from the series Twelve Scenes of Tokyo (Tôkyô jûnidai)

Woodblock print

Evening at Ushibori - Twilight at Ushibori

Woodblock print

Evening at Ushibori (Ushibori no yûgure)

Woodblock print

Evening Glow at Yanaka (Yanaka no yûbae), from the series Twelve Months in Tokyo (Tôkyô jûnikagetsu)

Woodblock print

Evening Glow in Spring, Toshogu Shrine, Ueno

Woodblock print

Evening in Atami, View From the Abe Inn

Woodblock print

One Night

2014

Mezzotint and chine-collé

Akebono (Dawn)

Woodblock print

Shadow of the Sunset

Woodblock print

Blue Moon (A) [Aoi tsuki (A)]

1962

Color woodblock print; edition 1/50

Morning Moon - L

1961

Woodblock print, ink and color on paper

Night Has Begun

2004

Mezzotint

Through the Night

Reduction woodcut

The Night of June

Etching with chine collé and hand coloring

Yoru to Yoru wo Tsunagu (Connecting Night and Night)

夜と夜をつなぐ

2013

Multicolor intaglio (single-plate viscosity printing)

One Spring Evening (Haru No Yoi)

2010

Mezzotint

Yozakura (Cherry Blossoms at Night)

2020

Mezzotint