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 on the Chikugo River
1927
Color woodblock print
Evening in a Hot Spring
1939
Woodblock print
Farmers house, evening
Woodblock print
Snowy Night, Tokyo (Nuit de Neige, Tokyo)
1939
Color woodblock print
Moonlight over Mount Yoshino
1886
Rain and Moonlight at Gohonmatsu
1880
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Taj Mahal by Moonlight
1916
Woodblock print
Taj Mahal, Twilight
1916
Woodblock print, ink and color on Japan paper
Twilight at Hashiba
Woodblock print
Evening
1921
Night View of Takanawa
Woodblock print
Quiet Evening, Shôwa period, dated 1958
Shôwa period, 1926-1989
Woodblock print
The Ruins of Osaka Castle at Night
1956
Color woodblock print; edition 7/20
Unknown, house at night
1964
Woodblock print
Appoaching Dusk on Furukawa Embankment (Kure iku Furukawazutsumi)
Kure iku Furukawazutsumi
1919
Color woodblock print; nagaban
![Misty Moonlight at Matsue in Izumo Province (Izumo Matsue [oborozuki]), from the series "Souvenirs of Travel, Third Series (Tabi miyage dai sanshu)" by Kawase Hasui](https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/7b184838-7c8e-01f1-cefe-43fe3e3bc339/full/843,/0/default.jpg)
Misty Moonlight at Matsue in Izumo Province (Izumo Matsue [oborozuki]), from the series "Souvenirs of Travel, Third Series (Tabi miyage dai sanshu)"
Izumo Matsue [oborozuki]
1924
Color woodblock print; oban
![Moonlight over Lake Kamo in Sado Island (Getsumei no Kamoko [Sado]), from the series "Souvenirs of Travel, Second Series (Tabi miyage dai nishu)" by Kawase Hasui](https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/7e4f83a5-694d-1634-1447-b94df2154699/full/843,/0/default.jpg)
Moonlight over Lake Kamo in Sado Island (Getsumei no Kamoko [Sado]), from the series "Souvenirs of Travel, Second Series (Tabi miyage dai nishu)"
Getsumei no Kamoko [Sado]
1921
Color woodblock print; oban
Akaurawan no Yuushou (Evening Glow at Akaurawan)
Woodblock print
Shinkawa at Night (Yoru no Shinkawa), from the series "Twelve Scenes of Tokyo (Tokyo junidai)"
Yoru no Shinkawa
1919
Color woodblock print; oban
Shinobazu Pond at Night
April 1932
Color woodblock print
Spring Evening at the Kintai Bridge (Kintaikyo no shunsho)
Kintaikyo no shunsho
1947
Color woodblock print
![Starlit Night at Miyajima (Hoshizukiyo [Miyajima]), from the series Souvenirs of Travel, Third Series (Tabi miyage dai sanshu) by Kawase Hasui](https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/f570c5b4-b857-817b-b674-bf6c8f1576a6/full/843,/0/default.jpg)
Starlit Night at Miyajima (Hoshizukiyo [Miyajima]), from the series Souvenirs of Travel, Third Series (Tabi miyage dai sanshu)
Hoshizukiyo [Miyajima]
1928
Color woodblock print; oban
Evening Make-Up
夕化粧
1930
Color woodblock print
Eight Views of Omi: Evening Snow at Hira
近江八景 比良の暮雪
1917
Color woodblock print
Crow in Moonlight
月に烏
c. 1927
Color woodblock print
Evening at Ushibori
牛堀の夕
c. 1930
Color woodblock print
Night at Nihonbashi
日本橋の夜
c. 1920
Color woodblock print
Returning woman in an autumn evening — Tasogare
Woodblock print
Yoshiwara in Moonlight
吉原の月
c. 1920
Color woodblock print
Evening in London (Yugure no Rondon), Shôwa period, dated 1962
Woodblock print
Bird in the Night - B
Woodblock print
Evening at Ueno Park
上野公園の夕
1934
Woodblock print
Evening Sky at Suwa Shrine, Nippori
日暮里 諏訪神社の夕空
1932
Color woodblock print
Misty Evening at Shinobazu Pond
Woodblock print
Misty Evening on the Shore of Shinobazu Pond
霞む夕 不忍池畔
1932
Color woodblock print
Misty Evening on the Shore of Shinobazu Pond (second impression)
霞む夕 不忍池畔
1932
Color woodblock print
Night Rain
Woodblock print
Night Rain at Maekawa
前川の夜雨
1938
Woodblock print
Pagoda in Evening Rain
Woodblock print
Rainy Evening at the Yasaka Pagoda
八坂の塔 雨の夕
1932
Color woodblock print
Rainy Night at Shinobazu Pond
不忍池の雨夜
1938
Color woodblock print
Spring Dusk at Yumoto Hot Springs, Hakone
箱根湯本 春の夕
1953
Color woodblock print
Spring Evening at Tokyo Ueno Park
東京上野公園 春の夕
1948
Color woodblock print
Summer Night
Woodblock print
Evening Cool
夕涼み
1930
Color woodblock print
Evening Tree — 夕の木
Woodblock print
Summer Evening - 夏の夕
1920
Woodblock print
The night sky of lozenge
1967
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Moonlight Night- LE
Woodblock print
Moonlight Night- Oban
Woodblock print
Night Perfume LE — 夜の梅
Woodblock print
Night Perfume- oban — 梅
Woodblock print
Twilight (B), Shôwa period,
Woodblock print
Twilight C
Woodblock print
Twilight C- oban
Woodblock print
Twilight D- LE
Woodblock print
Evening Moon and Foal
1955
Color woodblock print
Night View of Shinjuku, from the series Recollections of Tokyo
1945
Color woodblock print
Shinjnku no yo (Night of Shinjuku) / Tokyo kaiko zue (Scenes of Last Tokyo)
Woodblock print
Evening Gloom of Japan No. 3
1958
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
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.