Artwork

Night Rain on the Karasaki Pine from the series Eight Views of Ōmi

Night Rain on the Karasaki Pine from the series Eight Views of Ōmi is a print by the Romanticist artist Unknown. It dates from 1774 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.

About this work

Artists in the Edo period often made series like this, showing famous places in different weather or seasons.

A single pine tree bends under heavy rain at night. The dark trunk glows faintly against a stormy sky, while raindrops blur the branches. A small boat drifts on the lake below.

This print is one of eight scenes from Ōmi, a region in Japan. Artists in the Edo period often made series like this, showing famous places in different weather or seasons. The rain here isn’t just weather—it’s a mood, quiet and a little lonely.

If you like this, look up *subject: japan, edo period (1615–1868)* for more prints like it.

Overview

This print, Night Rain on the Karasaki Pine, is part of a series called Eight Views of Ōmi, depicting scenic views of the Ōmi region in various conditions.

Subject & Meaning

The scene features a solitary pine tree bent under the weight of rain at night, accompanied by a small drifting boat on a lake. The rain evokes a somber, isolated atmosphere, characteristic of the series' portrayal of famous sites in different weather and seasonal conditions.

Technique & Style

The artist captures the stormy night through the contrast of the dark, glowing tree trunk against the turbulent sky and the blurred branches due to raindrops, showcasing a typical Edo period style of landscape representation.

Context

The print is representative of a common Edo period artistic practice: creating series that highlighted notable locations under varying environmental conditions, thus capturing the diverse moods and aspects of these places.