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 Glow over Asakusa Bridge
Woodblock print
True Pictures of Famous Places in Tokyo: Evening View of Asakusa Park
Woodblock print
True Pictures of Famous Places in Tokyo: Night View of Cherry Blossom on Mukojima
Woodblock print
True Pictures of Famous Places in Tokyo: Night View of Matsuchiyama Hill
Woodblock print
True Pictures of Famous Places in Tokyo: Night View of Shinbashi Station
Woodblock print
True Pictures of Famous Places in Tokyo: Night View of Sujikai Street
Woodblock print
True Pictures of Famous Places in Tokyo: Night View of Sumidagawa River
Woodblock print
True Pictures of Famous Places in Tokyo: Night View of Yanagibashi Bridge in the Rain
Woodblock print
Night Scene
138/500
Woodblock print
TSUKIHAE (Moonlight)
Woodblock print
YOBANASHI (Story at night)
Woodblock print
Evening Bell at Mii Temple (Mii bansho), from the series "Eight Views of Omi (Omi hakkei no uchi)"
c. 1834
Color woodblock print; oban
YUGUMO (Evening Clouds)
Woodblock print
YUUGUMO (cloud in the evening)
Woodblock print
Night Flight
Not set
Woodblock print
Night Shift
Not set
Woodblock print
Evening Glow at Ukutsu
1938
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Heron on a Snowy Night - woodblock
Woodblock print
A Nocturnal Fuji, Lake Ashino (Ashino no yu Fuji)
Ashino no yu Fuji
1935
Color woodblock print
Night View of Beppu
Woodblock print
Cherry Blossoms at Night in Maruyama Park (Maruyama no yozakura)
1925
Color woodblock print; oban
Evening at Kiyamachi during the Daimonji Festival
Woodblock print
A Lakeside Inn Under Moonlight
Woodblock print
A woman sauntering on a beach by moonlight
Woodblock print
Black Cat at Night
Woodblock print
Fishboat on Moonlit Sea
Woodblock print
Moonlit Beach Scene- V1
Woodblock print
Night street scene
Woodblock print
Sinobazu Pond At Night
Woodblock print
Unknown night boat scene
Woodblock print
Evening in Nara, from the series "Kansai District"
1933
Color woodblock print
Evening in Nara (Nara no yube)
Nara no yube
1933
Color woodblock print; oban
Cherry tree at night
Not set
Woodblock print
EVENING SNOW AT KIYAMACHI
Not set
Woodblock print
Heron on a Snowy Night
Not set
Woodblock print
Moonlight of Taj Mahal, No. 4 (Tsukiyo no Taji Maharu, dai yon)
Tsukiyo no Taji Maharu, dai yon
1931
Color woodblock print; oban
Night in the Harbor (Minato no yoru)
Minato no yoru
1938
Color woodblock print; oban
Sailing Boats: Evening (Hansen, yu), from the series "Seto Inland Sea (Seto Naikai shu)"
Hansen, yu
1926
Color woodblock print
Sphinx - Night (Sufinkusu yoru), from the series "Europe"
Sufinkusu yoru
1925
Color woodblock print
Night Rain in Kyoto- watercolour
Not set
Woodblock print
Night Scene of Kiyamachi Street
Not set
Woodblock print
The Evening in Venice
Woodblock print
Evening
1907
Color woodcut
Rainy Twilight
1907
Color woodcut
Through the Night
1912
Color woodcut
Fuji From Mizukubo, Evening Scene
Woodblock print
Night in the Desert (Sabaku no yoru)
1959
Color woodblock print; edition 3/50
Sea: Evening Calm, Shôwa period, dated 1964
Shôwa period, 1926-1989
Woodblock print
Evening Calm
1963
Color woodblock print
Night Lights (Yoru no kanjo)
1957
Color woodblock print
Fukei Yami W-115 (Landscape-Night W-115)
Woodblock print
Tranquil Night
1981
Etching
Twilight
Woodblock print
Twilight C
Woodblock print
Night view of Hong Kong
Woodblock print
Mitate No.84 - Night (Yoru)
2007
No Series Cherry Blossoms At Night
Woodblock print
Evening Twilight at Haneda Airport (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
Color woodblock print
Dusk (Yugure)
1957
Color woodblock print
Boy and Rooster in Moonlight
1959
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.