Details

A full moon ascends into a luminous indigo sky, casting its pale light over a quiet grove of cherry blossoms in Spring Night at Inokashira Park, one of Kawase Hasui’s most atmospheric night scenes. The scene is rendered in cool, velvety tones: inky silhouettes of cedar trees rise like soft monoliths above the delicate haze of blooming sakura, while the water below absorbs and mirrors their presence with gentle distortion. The entire print hums with a kind of tranquil poetry—stillness made visual, where the only movement is the slow ripple of reflection.

Hasui’s design reflects a refined technique of bokashi (gradation) and nuanced carving which permits the viewer to feel the moisture of the night air, the breath of early spring. Though the park—one of Tokyo’s beloved hanami (flower-viewing) spots—would be alive with celebrants by day, Hasui chooses a moonlit hour instead, offering a private encounter with the ephemeral beauty of the blossoms. The shoreline is unpeopled, allowing the trees and water to take on a presence both solemn and sacred.

Connoisseur's Note

This print exemplifies Hasui’s gift for transforming landscape into emotion. Created at the height of the Shin-Hanga movement and published by Watanabe Shōzaburō, Spring Night at Inokashira Park captures a deeply Japanese sensibility: the fleeting nature of beauty (mono no aware) and the quietude of solitary observation. The print’s lyrical contrast between the dark canopy of evergreens and the soft bloom of cherry trees suggests a seasonal and spiritual balance—nature in its eternal return, the moon its silent witness.

Among Hasui’s many night views, this stands out for its tonal richness and spiritual calm. The viewer is not merely looking at a scene, but entering it—drawn into its hush, its hidden vitality, its profound serenity. A masterwork of twilight and reflection, it distills the hanami experience into a dreamlike reverie.