Utagawa Hiroshige
View from Massaki of Suijin Shrine, Uchigawa Inlet, and Sekiya1857, 8th month

On view:

Geffen Galleries, floor 1

Japanese woodblock print showing a river landscape viewed through a large circular opening, with flowering plum branches in the foreground, two small boats on teal-blue water, and distant pine trees and hills at dusk

Artist or Maker: Utagawa Hiroshige
Japan, Edo, 1797-1858
Title: View from Massaki of Suijin Shrine, Uchigawa Inlet, and Sekiya
Date Made: 1857, 8th month
Period: Edo period (1603-1868)
Medium: Color woodblock print
Dimensions: Image: 13 5/16 × 8 7/8 in. (33.81 × 22.54 cm) Sheet: 14 3/16 × 9 5/8 in. (36.04 × 24.45 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Barbara S. Bowman
Accession Number: M.2015.298.14
Classification: Prints
Collecting Area: Japanese Art
Curatorial Notes: This is a view of the Massaki district of Edo located on the Sumida River. Visible on the far right in the grove of trees is the gate of the famous Suijin Inari Shrine. In the background at the edge of the Uchikawa River is the village of Sekiya with the twin peaks of Mount Tsukuba in the far distance. Massaki was popular for its scenic views, here glimpsed through a semicircular window of one of the many teahouses and restaurants in the area. The blossoming plum outside the window indicates that it is springtime.

This print is from Utagawa Hiroshige’s series Meisho Edo hyakkei (One Hundred Famous Views of Edo). The vertical orientation is unusual for the time. The series also stands out for the artist’s experimentation with composition. In some of the prints, Hiroshige placed large-sized elements in the foreground, drawing the viewer very close to the scene (see AC1995.62.1). In others, like the present example, he used compositional elements in the foreground to create a frame through which one views far-off mountains, villages amid lush landscapes, or boats plying the river (see M.66.35.14).

2024
Selected Bibliography: Goodall, Hollis. Living for the Moment: Japanese Prints from the Barbara S. Bowman Collection. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art and DelMonico Books/Prestel, 2015.

Utagawa Hiroshige
View from Massaki of Suijin Shrine, Uchigawa Inlet, and Sekiya1857, 8th month

On view:

Geffen Galleries, floor 1

Artist or Maker: Utagawa Hiroshige
Japan, Edo, 1797-1858
Title: View from Massaki of Suijin Shrine, Uchigawa Inlet, and Sekiya
Date Made: 1857, 8th month
Period: Edo period (1603-1868)
Medium: Color woodblock print
Dimensions: Image: 13 5/16 × 8 7/8 in. (33.81 × 22.54 cm) Sheet: 14 3/16 × 9 5/8 in. (36.04 × 24.45 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Barbara S. Bowman
Accession Number: M.2015.298.14
Classification: Prints
Collecting Area: Japanese Art
Curatorial Notes: This is a view of the Massaki district of Edo located on the Sumida River. Visible on the far right in the grove of trees is the gate of the famous Suijin Inari Shrine. In the background at the edge of the Uchikawa River is the village of Sekiya with the twin peaks of Mount Tsukuba in the far distance. Massaki was popular for its scenic views, here glimpsed through a semicircular window of one of the many teahouses and restaurants in the area. The blossoming plum outside the window indicates that it is springtime.

This print is from Utagawa Hiroshige’s series Meisho Edo hyakkei (One Hundred Famous Views of Edo). The vertical orientation is unusual for the time. The series also stands out for the artist’s experimentation with composition. In some of the prints, Hiroshige placed large-sized elements in the foreground, drawing the viewer very close to the scene (see AC1995.62.1). In others, like the present example, he used compositional elements in the foreground to create a frame through which one views far-off mountains, villages amid lush landscapes, or boats plying the river (see M.66.35.14).

2024
Selected Bibliography: Goodall, Hollis. Living for the Moment: Japanese Prints from the Barbara S. Bowman Collection. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art and DelMonico Books/Prestel, 2015.