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
Cherry Blossoms at Night in Maruyama Park
Woodblock print
Cherry Blossoms at Night, Maruyama
Woodblock print
Rain Night
Woodblock print
Night Falls, a Dog Howls Deep in the Mountains
Woodblock print
Night Shower at Izumi Bridge
Woodblock print
Insects Seller in Summer Evening
Woodblock print
Sakawa Bridge in Evening
Woodblock print
The Approach to the Night Attack (Forty-seven Samurai)
Woodblock print
Dusk in Ginza (Fujisawa mokuhan calendar 1949)
Woodblock print
The Lake in the Evening by Eva Pietzcker - Davidson Galleries
Night
1954
Color woodblock print
Melting at night
2022
Pencil, colored pencil, watercolor gouache, golden leaf, paper on wooden panel
Evening Flowers. Toloas Truk
1941
Color woodblock print on paper under glass
Hazy Evening On The Shore of Shinobazu Pond
1932
Woodblock Print
Seven Stars
2016
Lithograph
A Moonlight Night
Acrylic on Canvas
Twilight in the Field
2020
Acrylic on canvas
Sleepless Night
2020
Paper on wooden panel, pencil, colored pencil, watercolor gouache, golden leaf
Matterhorn Night
Woodblock Print
Night (drops)
1954
Woodblock print
Night (stars)
1954
Woodblock print
Exodus; Night
2018
Etching and Digital Collage on Rag Paper
Views of Osaka: Harbour (Moonlit Night)
1919
Lithograph
Cherry Blossoms Night
Digital Print
Cold Night
2015
Archival Pigment Print
Night at Nihonbashi
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Sumida River by Night
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Tea House at Imadobashi in Moonlight
1877
N/A
Cargo Haul of Stars
2024
Monotype print on washi
Deer on a Mountain Ledge at Dusk
1910
Woodcut on paper
The Steps at Black's Beach: Moonlight
2020
Color woodblock print
Starlight Forest
Mixed media collage on board
Twilight
2022
Japanese Woodblock
Night Views
1987
Color Lithograph
Evening Glow at Suwa Shrine, Nippori
1932
Woodblock Print
Pagoda in Evening Rain (Yanaka, Tokyo)/雨に暮れるる塔
1932
Woodblock Print
Rainy Evening at Shinobazu Pond
1952
Woodblock print
DUSK
1984
Lithograph with hand brush strokes, ink and coloring on paper
A Summer Evening
1890
Woodblock Print
Reflected Moonlight
1886
Woodblock Print
Plum Blossom and the Moon from the Book Mount Fuji in Spring (Haru no Fuji)
c. 1803
Woodblock- printed book
Tsukasa and Other Courtesans of the Ogiya Watching the Autumn Moon Rise Over Rice Fields from a Balcony in the Yoshiwara
1799
Surimono; color woodblock print
Full Moon over Takanawa, from the series Famous Places in the Eastern Capital
c. 1831
color woodblock print
The Moon Seen Through Leaves (Hagoshi no Tsuki), from the series "Twenty-eight Views of the Moon (Tsuki nijuhakkei no uchi)"
c. 1832
Color woodblock print; otanzaku
Autumn Moon at Ishiyama (Ishiyama shugetsu), from the series "Eight Views of Omi (Omi hakkei no uchi)"
c. 1834
Color woodblock print; oban
Snow, Moon, and Flowers in the Pleasure Quarters (Seiro setsugekka) : Hanamurasaki of the Tamaya with Attendants Shirabe and Teriha
n.d.
Color woodblock print; oban
Mid-Autumn Moon Viewing
Woodblock print
Summer Moon at Miyajima, from the series "Collection of Views of Japan"
1936
Color woodblock print
Dawn
ca. 1920
Sunset at Morigasaki (Morigasaki no sekiyo)
January 1932
Color woodblock print
Spring Moon, Ninomiya Beach (Haru no tsuki (Ninomiya kaigan))
Haru no tsuki (Ninomiya kaigan
March 1932
Color woodblock print
Harvest Moon
Not set
Woodblock print
Moonlit Swim
2014
Mokuhanga
Dawn over Mout Fuji and Susaki, from the series "Five Views of Mount Fuji (Fuji goban no uchi)"
c. 1827/29
Color woodblock print; shikishiban surimono
Distant View of Mount Fuji at Dawn from Hakone
c. 1828/30
Color woodblock print; shikishiban, surimono
Flowers: Onoe Kikugoro III, from an untitled series of actors representing snow, moon, and flowers
c. 1830s
Color woodblock print; shikishiban, surimono
Chang E Flees to the Moon
1885
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Moon and Smoke (Enchū no tsuki), from the series One Hundred Aspects of the Moon (Tsuki hyaku sugata)
Meiji period, second month of 1886
Woodblock print in "ōban" format; ink and color on paper, with printed signature reading "Yoshitoshi"
Moon at Musashi Plain (Musashino no tsuki), from the series One Hundred Aspects of the Moon (Tsuki hyaku sugata)
Meiji period, 1892 (4th month)
Ukiyo-e woodblock print in "ōban" format; ink and color on paper, with printed signature reading "Yoshitoshi"
Moon of Enlightenment (Godo no tsuki), from the series "One Hundred Aspects of the Moon (Tsuki hyakushi)"
1881
Color woodblock print; oban
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 Takahashi Shotei 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 954 prints tagged with night scenes, spanning ukiyo-e, shin-hanga, and sōsaku-hanga traditions where applicable.