Night Scene of Street Stall (Yomise), 1949

Color woodblock print

11 5/16 x 15 7/16 inches (28.7 X 39.2 cm) 

Philadelphia Museum of Art, Bequest of
Warren H. and Mary I. Watanabe, 2001

2001-138-49

In his prolific career as a printmaker, Asano Takeji often depicted famous landscapes in the softened hues of evening. Night Scene of Street Stall stands out amongst the artist’s nocturnal landscapes of distant views. This print places the viewer at the heart of one of Occupied Japan’s congested black markets. The artificial light beaming from the vendor’s stalls illuminates the downcast eyes and mute faces of a somber crowd. The haggard figures convey the weight of the times, suggesting the economic hardship and difficulty of the postwar era in which this print was made.

Anna Moblard Meier