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The Ukiyo-e Moon

The Moon in Japanese ArtCreated by: PICRYL - Public Domain Media Search EngineDated: 1866
"A fairy moon and a lonely shore"
During the Edo period (1603-1868), ukiyo-e (浮世絵/"floating world pictures"), woodblock cuts exploded in popularity across Japan.
Throughout the Edo period, the moon remained a very popular subject for ukiyo-e art. Scenes of nightlife in Edo (modern-day Tokyo) and Kyoto and prints depicting a gigantic moon (or 'ukiyo-e moon') floating over houses, temples, and Japanese landmarks were hugely popular.
The Rimpa school was known for its half-moons, which adorned many of their paintings. Perhaps the most famous series with the ukiyo-e moon as a theme is Tsukioka Yoshitoshi's "One Hundred Aspects of the Moon" series. Most sets of the series published in 1885 underneath a full moon. "One Hundred Aspects of the Moon" was one of the last of the great ukiyo-e series to be published.
58 Media in collectionpage 1 of 1
Uyōkanazawa hashōyakei - Public domain Japanese woodblock print

Uyōkanazawa hashōyakei - Public domain Japanese woodblock print

Public domain photo of Japanese woodblock print (Ukiyo-e), free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description

Gekka momo ni tsubakura - Public domain  drawing

Gekka momo ni tsubakura - Public domain drawing

Print shows two swallows with peach blossoms and a full moon. Title and other descriptive information compiled by Nichibunken-sponsored Edo print specialists in 2005-06. Format: Otanzaku-ban Nishikie. Adachi mo... More

Daimotsu kaijō no tsuki - Public domain  drawing

Daimotsu kaijō no tsuki - Public domain drawing

Print shows a Musashibo Benkei praying to appease the gods and calm the rough seas so that his ship may cross Daimotsu Bay safely. Title and other descriptive information compiled by Nichibunken-sponsored Edo p... More

[Fūkeiga], Ando Hiroshige - Public domain image related to music prformance, drawing

[Fūkeiga], Ando Hiroshige - Public domain image related to music prfor...

Print shows a moonlight scene along a river with people fishing, in boats, and walking along the shore. Title and other descriptive information compiled by Nichibunken-sponsored Edo print specialists in 2005-06... More

Utagawa Hiroshige - Seba, Andō Hiroshige - Ukiyo e print

Utagawa Hiroshige - Seba, Andō Hiroshige - Ukiyo e print

Print shows two men poling sampans on the Ohta River beneath a full moon. Title and other descriptive information compiled by Nichibunken-sponsored Edo print specialists in 2005-06. From the series: Kisokaidō r... More

Kyōbashi takegashi, Andō Hiroshige - Ukiyo e print

Kyōbashi takegashi, Andō Hiroshige - Ukiyo e print

Print shows pedestrians crossing the Kyō Bridge as a man poles a boat on the river below, with long pieces of bamboo along the bank on the left, and a full moon overhead. Title and other descriptive information... More

[Modern illustrated sheets with pictorial envelope]

[Modern illustrated sheets with pictorial envelope]

Each illustration, including front of envelope, is signed with Japanese characters and chops. Japanese text appears in the left and right margins of the eight printed sheets. Gift; Oliver Wendell Holmes; 1935.... More

Kōyō saruhashi no zu Andō Hiroshige

Kōyō saruhashi no zu Andō Hiroshige

Print shows steep cliffs with a bridge spanning the chasm above an inlet, with view of full moon between the cliffs. Title and other descriptive information compiled by Nichibunken-sponsored Edo print specialis... More

Sumida gawa no tsuki Andō Hiroshige

Sumida gawa no tsuki Andō Hiroshige

Print shows a full moon shining on pedestrians crossing a bridge over inlet with boats and buildings nearby, and the Sumida River and mountains in the background. Title and other descriptive information compile... More

Takanawa tsuki no kei - Public domain Japanese woodblock print

Takanawa tsuki no kei - Public domain Japanese woodblock print

Print shows full moon shining on boats in harbor and many people walking between buildings on the beach.

Yūgao dana nōryō zu - Public domain Japanese woodblock print

Yūgao dana nōryō zu - Public domain Japanese woodblock print

Print shows a couple in the country with a child and a teapot, sitting on a mat beneath a trellis covered with yūgao vines, enjoying the full moon.

[Fūkeiga] - Public domain Japanese woodblock print

[Fūkeiga] - Public domain Japanese woodblock print

Print shows a moonlight night with small boats heading toward village and a flock of geese flying overhead.

Tamagawa no shūgetsu, Andō Hiroshige - Ukiyo e print

Tamagawa no shūgetsu, Andō Hiroshige - Ukiyo e print

Print shows people on shore and in boats fishing on the Tama River beneath a full moon. Title and other descriptive information compiled by Nichibunken-sponsored Edo print specialists in 2005-06. From the serie... More

Kyōbashi takegashi, Andō Hiroshige - Ukiyo e print

Kyōbashi takegashi, Andō Hiroshige - Ukiyo e print

Print shows pedestrians crossing the Kyō Bridge as a man poles a boat on the river below, with long pieces of bamboo along the bank on the left, and a full moon overhead. Title and other descriptive information... More

Sugawara no Michizane, Taiso Yoshitoshi - Ukiyo e print

Sugawara no Michizane, Taiso Yoshitoshi - Ukiyo e print

Print shows Sugawara Michizane, full-length, standing next to a tree beneath a full moon, writing poetry. Title and other descriptive information compiled by Nichibunken-sponsored Edo print specialists in 2005-... More

Yoru no fukagawa sanbashi - Public domain city architecture drawing

Yoru no fukagawa sanbashi - Public domain city architecture drawing

Print shows a person standing on a dock attached to a building, a small boat with passengers arriving or departing, under a full moon. Title and other descriptive information compiled by Nichibunken-sponsored E... More

Uyōkanazawa hashōyakei - Public domain Japanese woodblock print

Uyōkanazawa hashōyakei - Public domain Japanese woodblock print

Public domain photo of Japanese woodblock print (Ukiyo-e), free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description

Jūgo, Utagawa Kunisada, Japan - Public domain image related to music prformance, drawing

Jūgo, Utagawa Kunisada, Japan - Public domain image related to music p...

Print shows a man and a woman walking along a roadway illuminated by lanterns, at night under a full moon; on the left is a male servant carrying a sword. Title and other descriptive information compiled by Nic... More

Semimaru - Public domain Japanese woodblock print

Semimaru - Public domain Japanese woodblock print

Print shows Prince Semimaru tuning a lute by the light of a full moon at his mountain retreat on Mount Ausaka.

Tamausagi songokū, Taiso Yoshitoshi - Ukiyo e print

Tamausagi songokū, Taiso Yoshitoshi - Ukiyo e print

Print shows Son Goku, a monkey sometimes known as the Monkey King, holding a spiked sceptre and glaring at the Moon Rabbit, who apparently lives on the moon. Title and other descriptive information compiled by ... More

Waisui no tsuki, Taiso Yoshitoshi - Ukiyo e print

Waisui no tsuki, Taiso Yoshitoshi - Ukiyo e print

Print shows the Chinese general Wu Zixu talking to a fisherman sitting on the shore of the Huai River, who tells him the location of the grave of the man who murdered the general's father. Title and other descr... More

"A fairy moon and a lonely shore"

"A fairy moon and a lonely shore"

Print shows a man with a shoulder pole walking along a moonlite shore. Stamp on verso: Matsumoto print, no. 39. The Matsumoto Do, Ltd. Tokyo, Japan. Forms part of: Japanese prints and drawings (Library of Congress).

[Fūkeiga], Andō Hiroshige - Public domain  drawing

[Fūkeiga], Andō Hiroshige - Public domain drawing

Print shows a moonlight scene on a river with boats. Title and other descriptive information compiled by Nichibunken-sponsored Edo print specialists in 2005-06. Format: modern Oban reproduction. Forms part of: ... More

[Modern illustrated sheets with pictorial envelope]

[Modern illustrated sheets with pictorial envelope]

Each illustration, including front of envelope, is signed with Japanese characters and chops. Japanese text appears in the left and right margins of the eight printed sheets. Gift; Oliver Wendell Holmes; 1935.... More

[Modern illustrated sheets with pictorial envelope]

[Modern illustrated sheets with pictorial envelope]

Each illustration, including front of envelope, is signed with Japanese characters and chops. Japanese text appears in the left and right margins of the eight printed sheets. Gift; Oliver Wendell Holmes; 1935.... More

Aki no tsuki, Andō Hiroshige - Public domain  drawing

Aki no tsuki, Andō Hiroshige - Public domain drawing

Print shows view across the landscape from a building of the full moon above a body of water with boats and a large hill. Title and other descriptive information compiled by Nichibunken-sponsored Edo print spec... More

Jōga hongetsu, Taiso Yoshitoshi - Ukiyo e print

Jōga hongetsu, Taiso Yoshitoshi - Ukiyo e print

Print shows a female deity, Chang-e, full-length, holding a vial of the elixir of immortality, as she rides on clouds to the moon. Title and other descriptive information compiled by Nichibunken-sponsored Edo p... More

[Modern illustrated sheets with pictorial envelope]

[Modern illustrated sheets with pictorial envelope]

Each illustration, including front of envelope, is signed with Japanese characters and chops. Japanese text appears in the left and right margins of the eight printed sheets. Gift; Oliver Wendell Holmes; 1935.... More

Uyōkanazawa hashōyakei - Drawing. Public domain image.

Uyōkanazawa hashōyakei - Drawing. Public domain image.

Public domain photo of Japanese woodblock print (Ukiyo-e), free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description

Konen Uehara - Tsuki ni tomari fune

Konen Uehara - Tsuki ni tomari fune

Print shows sailboats at dock and low buildings under the light of a full moon. Title and other descriptive information compiled by Nichibunken-sponsored Edo print specialists in 2005-06. Format: full color woo... More

[Modern illustrated sheets with pictorial envelope]

[Modern illustrated sheets with pictorial envelope]

Each illustration, including front of envelope, is signed with Japanese characters and chops. Japanese text appears in the left and right margins of the six printed sheets. Gift; Oliver Wendell Holmes; 1935. F... More

[Modern illustrated sheets with pictorial envelope]

[Modern illustrated sheets with pictorial envelope]

Each illustration, including front of envelope, is signed with Japanese characters and chops. Japanese text appears in the left and right margins of the eight printed sheets. Gift; Oliver Wendell Holmes; 1935.... More

[Modern illustrated sheets with pictorial envelope]

[Modern illustrated sheets with pictorial envelope]

Each illustration, including front of envelope, is signed with Japanese characters and chops. Japanese text appears in the left and right margins of the eight printed sheets. Gift; Oliver Wendell Holmes; 1935.... More

[Modern illustrated sheets with pictorial envelope]

[Modern illustrated sheets with pictorial envelope]

Each illustration, including front of envelope, is signed with Japanese characters and chops. Japanese text appears in the left and right margins of the eight printed sheets. Gift; Oliver Wendell Holmes; 1935.... More

Utagawa Hiroshige - Numazu, Tasogare-zu

Utagawa Hiroshige - Numazu, Tasogare-zu

Public domain photo of Japanese woodblock print (Ukiyo-e), free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description

Utagawa Hiroshige - Saruwaka-machi yoru no kei

Utagawa Hiroshige - Saruwaka-machi yoru no kei

Print shows pedestrians on a commercial street at night beneath a full moon. Title and other descriptive information compiled by Nichibunken-sponsored Edo print specialists in 2005-06. From the series: Meisho e... More

Ishiyama no shūgestu, Ando Hiroshige - Ukiyo e print

Ishiyama no shūgestu, Ando Hiroshige - Ukiyo e print

Print shows bird's-eye view of the Buddhist temple at Ishiyama-dera, and a building on a bluff, also a bridge across the Seta River (the same bridge as in Evening glow at Seta), and mountains in the distance, u... More

[View of full moon from the scaffolding beneath a bridge, with city on the left]

[View of full moon from the scaffolding beneath a bridge, with city on...

Title devised by Library staff, other descriptive information compiled by Nichibunken-sponsored Edo print specialists in 2005-06, and researcher F.M. de Monasterio, 2016) Takamizawa modern reprint (Showa). Form... More

[Fūkeiga], Andō Hiroshige - Public domain  drawing

[Fūkeiga], Andō Hiroshige - Public domain drawing

Print shows a moonlight night with a man poling a small boat as the moon rises from behind a grove of trees. Title and other descriptive information compiled by Nichibunken-sponsored Edo print specialists in 20... More

[Modern illustrated sheets with pictorial envelope]

[Modern illustrated sheets with pictorial envelope]

Each illustration, including front of envelope, is signed with Japanese characters and chops. Japanese text appears in the left and right margins of the six printed sheets. Gift; Oliver Wendell Holmes; 1935. F... More

[Modern illustrated sheets with pictorial envelope]

[Modern illustrated sheets with pictorial envelope]

Each illustration, including front of envelope, is signed with Japanese characters and chops. Japanese text appears in the left and right margins of the six printed sheets. Gift; Oliver Wendell Holmes; 1935. F... More

[Modern illustrated sheets with pictorial envelope]

[Modern illustrated sheets with pictorial envelope]

Each illustration, including front of envelope, is signed with Japanese characters and chops. Japanese text appears in the left and right margins of the eight printed sheets. Gift; Oliver Wendell Holmes; 1935.... More

Yumiharizuki, Andō Hiroshige - Public domain  drawing

Yumiharizuki, Andō Hiroshige - Public domain drawing

Print shows a bridge spanning a steep canyon with a crescent moon visible between the canyon walls. Title and other descriptive information compiled by Nichibunken-sponsored Edo print specialists in 2005-06. Fr... More

Kanagawa, Andō Hiroshige - Public domain  drawing

Kanagawa, Andō Hiroshige - Public domain drawing

Print shows a view of ships in a harbor and an inn under a full moon on the coast at the Kanagawa station on the Tōkaidō Road. Title and other descriptive information compiled by Nichibunken-sponsored Edo print... More

Kōshi no tsuki, Taiso Yoshitoshi - Ukiyo e print

Kōshi no tsuki, Taiso Yoshitoshi - Ukiyo e print

Print shows Ono no Takamura tying a bundle of firewood as he looks toward the moon rising above buildings in the distance, possibly his parents home. Title and other descriptive information compiled by Nichibun... More

Inabayama no tsuki, Taiso Yoshitoshi - Ukiyo e print

Inabayama no tsuki, Taiso Yoshitoshi - Ukiyo e print

Print shows a warrior climbing Mount Inaba by the light of a full moon. Title and other descriptive information compiled by Nichibunken-sponsored Edo print specialists in 2005-06. From the series: Tsuki hyaku s... More

Uyōkanazawa hashōyakei - Public domain Japanese woodblock print

Uyōkanazawa hashōyakei - Public domain Japanese woodblock print

Public domain photo of Japanese woodblock print (Ukiyo-e), free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description

[Fūkeiga] - Public domain Japanese woodblock print

[Fūkeiga] - Public domain Japanese woodblock print

Print shows a moonlight night with small boats heading toward village and a flock of geese flying overhead.

[Modern illustrated sheets with pictorial envelope]

[Modern illustrated sheets with pictorial envelope]

Each illustration, including front of envelope, is signed with Japanese characters and chops. Japanese text appears in the left and right margins of the eight printed sheets. Gift; Oliver Wendell Holmes; 1935.... More

Chūshū, Harunobu Suzuki, Woodblock Print, Japan

Chūshū, Harunobu Suzuki, Woodblock Print, Japan

Print shows two women, one sitting, the other reclining, on a bench between blossoming plants and beneath a full moon. Title and other descriptive information compiled by Nichibunken-sponsored Edo print special... More

Shigenaga Nishimura - [Moon viewing at Shinagawa]

Shigenaga Nishimura - [Moon viewing at Shinagawa]

Print shows men and women eating and entertaining while looking at the full moon at a large building or pavilion in Shinagawa, on the Tōkaidō Road. Adachi modern reprint (Showa). Forms part of: Japanese print... More

[Modern illustrated sheets with pictorial envelope]

[Modern illustrated sheets with pictorial envelope]

Each illustration, including front of envelope, is signed with Japanese characters and chops. Japanese text appears in the left and right margins of the eight printed sheets. Gift; Oliver Wendell Holmes; 1935.... More

[Modern illustrated sheets with pictorial envelope]

[Modern illustrated sheets with pictorial envelope]

Each illustration, including front of envelope, is signed with Japanese characters and chops. Japanese text appears in the left and right margins of the six printed sheets. Gift; Oliver Wendell Holmes; 1935. F... More

Tsuki no misaki, Andō Hiroshige - Ukiyo e print

Tsuki no misaki, Andō Hiroshige - Ukiyo e print

Print shows the view through two open sliding panels of a porch with large body of water beyond, several boats at anchor beneath a full moon; the shadow of a woman is visible on the left sliding panel. Title an... More

[Modern illustrated sheets with pictorial envelope]

[Modern illustrated sheets with pictorial envelope]

Each illustration, including front of envelope, is signed with Japanese characters and chops. Japanese text appears in the left and right margins of the six printed sheets. Gift; Oliver Wendell Holmes; 1935. F... More

Tsuki - Public domain Japanese woodblock print

Tsuki - Public domain Japanese woodblock print

Print shows a woman and a young girl looking at a full moon.

Tsuki no misaki, Andō Hiroshige - Ukiyo e print

Tsuki no misaki, Andō Hiroshige - Ukiyo e print

Print shows the view through two open sliding panels of a porch with large body of water beyond, several boats at anchor beneath a full moon; the shadow of a woman is visible on the left sliding panel and a lam... More

[Modern illustrated sheets with pictorial envelope]

[Modern illustrated sheets with pictorial envelope]

Each illustration, including front of envelope, is signed with Japanese characters and chops. Japanese text appears in the left and right margins of the six printed sheets. Gift; Oliver Wendell Holmes; 1935. F... More