Night View of Matsuchiyama and the San'yabori Canal (Matsuchiyama San'yabori yakei), from the series One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (Meisho Edo hyakkei)

No. 34 (spring section) on the title page for the series. In this somewhat mysterious image, a geisha passes along the bank of the Sumida River beneath a star-filled sky. The lantern of the person leading her seems to float in front of her. Silhouetted in the background we see Matsuchiyama’s small and large hills and the Imado Bridge to the right. Lights from the buildings glimmer outward while stars reflect off the river’s surface. The starry sky that illuminates the dark night exemplifies the complementary skills of designer, carver and inker. The effect was created through a combination of the bokashi ink gradation technique, the sheen of mica that has been added on top of the wet pigment, the minutely carved, variegated shapes of individual stars, and an arresting wood-grain texture from the woodblock.