Night Scenes Prints (1041)
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
Evening at Ueno Park
Woodblock print
Boats at Shinagawa, Night
Woodblock print
Cherry Blossom Viewing in the Evening at Gion
20th century
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Ginza at Night, from the series Recollections of Tokyo
1945
Color woodblock print
Evening at Mii Temple
Woodblock print
Black night-Ginza (One Hundred Views of Tokyo, Message to the 21st Century 東京百景 21世紀へのメッセジ)
1989-99
Maizuru Harbor at Night
Woodblock print
Aerial: Night
1964
Color woodblock print
Morigasaki Night Fishing
Woodblock print
Rainy Evening at Ginza
Woodblock print
Ryuhashi at Night- Yanagibashi- postwar
Woodblock print
Twelve Scenes of Tokyo: Kagurazaka Street after a Night Rain
after 1929
Color woodblock print
Hanamurasaki of the Tamaya, (kamuro:) Shirabe, Teriha, Flowers from the series Snow, Moon and Flowers in Yoshiwara (Seiro setsugekka) (Tamaya uchi Hanamurasaki, Shirabe, Teriha)
1793
Color woodblock print; oban
Caravan from Afghanistan on a Moonlit Night
1932
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Evening after Rain
1926
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Evening in Nara (Later printing by Toshi Yoshida)
1933
Woodblock print
Evening in Pittsburg
description
Woodblock print
Evening on the River, Chikugogawa - Hita
1927
Woodblock print
No Series Returning Junks Seto Inland Sea In Moonlight
Woodblock print
No Series Returning Junks Seto Inland Sea In Moonlight
Woodblock print
No Series Returning Junks Seto Inland Sea In Moonlight
Woodblock print
Himeji Castle -- Evening, Taishô period, dated 1926?
Taishô period, 1912-1926
Woodblock print
Himeji Castle in the Evening (Later printing by Toshi Yoshida)
1928
Woodblock print
Itoigawa in the Evening
1929
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Kagurazaka Street after a Night Rain
after 1929
Color woodblock print
Moonlight of Taj Mahal #4
1931
Woodblock print
Taj Mahal, Night
1932
Woodblock print
The Acropolis Ruins at Night
1925
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Bathtime Twilight
Not set
Woodblock print
Woman walking in the snow at night — 雪裏の佳人
1897
Woodblock print
Evening Cool — 夕涼み
Not set
Woodblock print
Tokaido Kusatsu Night Moon
1930
Woodblock print
Traveler on Moonlit Shore
Not set
Woodblock print
A May Evening at Kudanzaka
Woodblock print
Evening Landscape
Woodblock print
Night of Tanabata (14/45)
Woodblock print
Canal by Moonlight
Woodblock print
Dusk- Tasogare — たそがれ
Woodblock print
Evening at Boshu Futoumi in Awa Province- Boshu Futoumi no Yube
Woodblock print
Heron on a Snowy Night
Woodblock print
YUHI (the evening sun)
Woodblock print
#2Shinbashi at Night (To be Sold as a Complete Set of 6)
Woodblock print
#4 Sukiya Bridge at Night (To be Sold as a Complete Set of 6)
Woodblock print
Ginza by Night
Woodblock print
YUUHI B (the evening sun B)
Woodblock print
Moonlight
Woodblock print
Evening Sun B
Woodblock print
Ox Cart at Night
Woodblock print
Chikibu Island in Moonlight
Woodblock print
Winter, poem at night. Series: Tsukinami.
Woodblock print
Seto Inland Sea in Moonlight
Woodblock print
Moonlit Beach Scene- V1
Woodblock print
Moonlit Beach Scene- V2
Woodblock print
Motoyama Taskforce Night Warfare at Pyongyang Castle — 元山支隊平壌城下夜戦之図
Woodblock print
Travellers in the Evening
Woodblock print
Fisherman in the night (title not original)
Woodblock print
Distance View of Nara Pagoda from the Pond of Sarusawa and Willow Trees on the Right at Evening
Woodblock print
Hydrangea Garden, Outskirts of Odawara at Evening
Woodblock print
Geese at Night in Snow
c. 1928–1930
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
ENOSHIMA YUKEI (Evening Scene at Enoshima)
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 Hiroshi Yoshida 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 1041 prints tagged with night scenes, spanning ukiyo-e, shin-hanga, and sōsaku-hanga traditions where applicable.