Ukiyo-e, meaning “pictures of the floating world,” was a genre of woodblock print popular from the 17th through 19th century that depicted scenes of everyday life across Japan. Hiroshige’s designs are among the most widely circulated of any premodern print artist, and because of his prints’ popularity, editions ran into the thousands.
Utagawa Hiroshige 歌川 広重
Utagawa Hiroshige 歌川 広重
His most well-known series, One Hundred Famous Views of Edo, was completed just before his death. Hiroshige had lived his entire life in Edo (present-day Tokyo), and the series offers a great variety of scenes from many locations in and around his home city. Mount Fuji features prominently, as do the waterways and canals that cut through Edo at the time.
Utagawa Hiroshige 歌川 広重
The series’ extreme commercial success resulted in Hiroshige creating more than the 100 views of its title over a period of two-plus years. Both during and after his lifetime, many editions of the series were produced as well, with clear differences apparent among them. For example, the earliest deluxe edition usually has multicolored title cartouches, many of which are on view in this exhibition.
Utagawa Hiroshige 歌川 広重
Utagawa Hiroshige 歌川 広重
This selection of about 35 prints from Hiroshige’s renowned series showcases his captivating style and demonstrates why artists within and outside Japan from the 19th century through today have been inspired by his work.
One Hundred Famous Views of Edo is curated by Janice Katz, Roger L. Weston Curator of Japanese Art, Arts of Asia.
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