Nishijima Katsuyuki – The Night after Full Moon (Nishijima Katsuyuki – Izayoi)

Original woodblock print, hand-signed by the artist. First published in 1984.

Nishijima Katsuyuki depicts the moonrise over traditional Japanese rooftops, illuminating them in the night through scattered clouds. The moon is in its 16th night of the lunar calendar, just after the full moon, when it begins to wane and seemingly rises more slowly, somewhat hesitantly.

Image size (excluding margins): 19.7 * 27.3 cm (7.8 * 10.7 in).

The print is in excellent condition.

The pictures shown here are from the print itself.

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Nishijima Katsuyuki b. 1945) is a prolific and popular Japanese woodblock artist. He has been perfecting his art since half a century, working in the Sosaku Hanga (creative prints) style, and thus carving and printing all by himself.

He has developed a completely unique style, making his prints recognizable from across the room. Common themes are country side landscapes and city scenes. Here, the scenes do not show people or modern tools, creating a timeless beauty, where, to an extent, it is possible to imagine oneself being in the present or a century earlier just as easily.

Nishijima Katsuyuki signs his prints, but many of the designs are unnumbered. With many designs and possibly recurring editions for his unnumbered prints, it seems that it was possible for him to keep them relatively affordable.

See an overview of Nishijima Katsuyuki's woodblock prints