Katsushika Oi “Night Scene in the Yoshiwara” －The Lineage of Nightscapes

※Please note that weekends, public holidays, and the final days of the exhibition period tend to be very busy. If your schedule permits, we kindly ask that you visit on a weekday and as early in the exhibition period as possible. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

Katsushika Ōi was a talented ukiyo-e artist and the daughter of Hokusai. Her masterpiece, Night Scene in the Yoshiwara, is renowned for its vivid contrast of light and shadow, which brings the pleasure district to life after dark. Celebrated as a masterpiece of ukiyo-e night scenes, this work is being presented to the public for the first time in three years, offering visitors a rare opportunity to appreciate its unique beauty.

The exhibition also features outstanding nocturnal works by masters such as Suzuki Harunobu, Utagawa Hiroshige, and Kobayashi Kiyochika. In addition, it introduces rarely seen night scenes created for overseas markets from the late Meiji period onward.

Tracing the evolution of night-scene imagery from the Edo period through the Meiji and Taishō periods, this exhibition invites visitors to rediscover the brilliance of Night Scene in the Yoshiwara.

1. A Must-See Masterpiece by Katsushika Ōi

Katsushika Ōi has attracted widespread attention in recent years through television dramas, films, and anime. However, only about a dozen of her hand-painted works are known to exist worldwide. Among these works, Yoshiwara Kōshi Saki no Zu (Night Scene in the Yoshiwara) is her defining masterpiece, celebrated for its inventive composition and striking contrast between light and shadow. This exhibition offers a rare opportunity to view one of Ōi’s most acclaimed works.

2. Experience Masterpieces of the Night

From starlit evenings and summer nights illuminated by fireworks to rainy nights beneath heavy clouds, ukiyo-e artists have explored the interplay of light and darkness. Utagawa Hiroshige, famed for his Prussian-blue skies, and Kobayashi Kiyochika, who poetically rendered Tokyo’s modernizing nightscapes, are central figures within this art tradition. The exhibition also features night scenes by Torii Kiyonaga, Keisai Eisen, Utagawa Kuniyoshi, Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, Inoue Yasuji, Ogura Ryūson, and others.

3. Little-Known Night-Scene Prints Beloved Abroad

In the late Meiji period, as domestic demand for traditional ukiyo-e declined, many prints were created specifically for overseas markets. These included reproductions of works by Hiroshige and Kiyochika, as well as new night scenes inspired by their works, demonstrating the high regard in which Edo-period night imagery was held abroad. However, night-scene prints made for export have received little attention in research and exhibitions to date. Highlighting the publishers Hasegawa Takejirō and Watanabe Shōzaburō, this exhibition introduces these overlooked night-scene prints created for international audiences, offering insight into the roots of ukiyo-e’s enduring global popularity.

Unless otherwise indicated, all works are from the Ota Memorial Museum of Art.

Admission

Adult	1200 yen
University and High school students	800 yen
Junior High School Students and below (under 15 years old)	Free

＊Student ID required for junior high school students and above.
＊¥100 discount with a disability ID (Valid for the holder and 1 caregiver).
＊We accept cash only. No credit cards or mobile payments.

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