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 Snow at Terajima Village (Yuki ni fururu Terajima mura), from the series "Twelve Scenes of Tokyo (Tokyo junidai)"
1920
Color woodblock print
Spring Evening at the Otemon Gate (Otemon no haru no yugure)
1952
Color woodblock print; oban
Cool Evening (Suzumi), from the series Twelve Figures of New Beauties (Shin bijin jûni sugata), Taishô period, dated 1922
Woodblock print
Night Rain at Mii Temple, from the series "Eight Views of Ohmi"
1917
Color woodblock print
Snowy Night- Woman Warming Herself on a foot warmer — 雪の夜
Woodblock print
C9- Night scene of Mabashi, near Tokyo
Woodblock print
Black-crowned Night Heron in Snow
c. 1928–1930
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Crows in moonlight
1927
Color woodblock print; oban
Fox by the Moonlit Water
c. 1928–1930
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Night Heron
c. 1900–1945
Woodblock print
Two Egrets at Night
c.1910
Woodblock print
Yūgure no hansen (Evening sailboats)
1900-1915
Color woodcut
Yūgure no hansen (Evening sailboats - alternate impression)
1900-1915
Color woodcut
C17- Night Scene at Itako
Woodblock print
C29- Pedler in the snowy night
Woodblock print
Canal by Moonlight
Woodblock print
Evening after Snowfall (Yukiagari no yori)
20th century
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
M6 Evening at Shinagawa
Woodblock print
Men moving a cart at night
1930s
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Rainy Night at Shinobazu Pond
Woodblock print
River Boats in the Evening
Woodblock print
Sakawa Bridge in Evening- V2
Woodblock print
Snow at Night (Yoru no yuki)
Woodblock print
Snowy night with a hazy moon
Woodblock print
Spring Evening- Post Quake
Woodblock print
two Japanese men playing darts at night
Woodblock print
Plum Blossoms at Night — 夜の梅
1934
Woodblock print
Snowy Evening — 雪の夕
1931
Woodblock print
Queen of the Night
Stonehenge (Moonlight)
Woodblock print
'Night Falls, a Dog Howls Deep in the Mountains, the God of the Hunt Appears', from Ryuri Hanga Saku
1959
Woodblock print
Night Wind Over Lake
Shōwa period,
Woodblock print; ink on paper
The Bright of Evening
About 1954
Woodblock print
The Night Visit
1959
Woodblock print
The Night Visit, from the series "Story of the Cormorant"
About 1938
Woodblock print
Ginza no tasogare-doki (Dusk in Ginza) / Fujisawa mokuhan karendaa (Fujisawa Woodblock Print Calendar, 1949)
Woodblock print
Moonlight Over Kinugawa Hot Springs (Kinugawa Onsen)
1940
Woodblock print
Night at Nihonbashi Bridge (Tokyo)
1946
Color woodblock print
Florence Evening Silhouette
Woodblock print
Fujieda: Wheat Field at Twilight
Woodblock print
Minakuchi: Twilight River
Woodblock print
Nissaka: Night-Weeping Stone
Woodblock print
Yokkaichi: Oil Refinery Complex at Night
Woodblock print
An Evening Moon
1990–91
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Chikibu Island in Moonlight
Woodblock print
Evening Sky Mt. Fuji
1990–91
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Starlit Night No. 6
1980
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
ENOSHIMA YUKEI (Evening Scene at Enoshima)
Woodblock print
Moonlight
Woodblock print
A Cauldron on a Moonlit Night (Tsukiyo no kama), from the series "One Hundred Aspects of the Moon (Tsuki hyakushi)"
1886
Color woodblock print; oban
By Request, Picture of Fujiwara Yasumasa Playing the Flute by Moonlight, a Painting Shown at the Exhibition for the Advancement of Painting in Autumn 1882
February 1883
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Kumasaka in the Misty Moonlight
1887
Woodblock print
The Retainer Samanosuke on the Moor at Night
1865
A Night at Sumida River
ca. 1881
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Evening on the Sumida River
Woodblock print
Evening Scene at Kandagawa
1881 (Meiji 14)
Woodblock print (nishiki-e): ink and color on paper
Moon on a chilly night at Akashicho, Tsukiji — 築地明石町寒夜之月
Woodblock print
Moonlight on the Tea Houses at Imado Bridge
Woodblock print
Moonlit Sea at Kawasaki
1877
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Mt. Fuji at Twilight from Edobashi
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.