Memorial portrait of Hiroshige by Kunisada.

Utagawa Hiroshige, (IPA pronunciation: utɑgɑwɑ hɪˌrəʊʃi'geɪ, Japanese: 歌川広重; 1797 in Edo – October 12, 1858, also sometimes referred to as "Andō Hiroshige" (安藤広重) (although this combination of a family name with an art name is irregular), ^[1] and by the art name of "Ichiyusai Hiroshige") was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist, and one of the last great artists in that tradition. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (552x800, 144 KB) Description Titre : portrait posthume dHiroshige par Kunisada. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (552x800, 144 KB) Description Titre : portrait posthume dHiroshige par Kunisada. ... Utagawa Kunisada (1786 - 1865) (Japanese: 歌川国貞, known as Utagawa Tokokuni III 三代歌川豊国 later in his career) was known in his time as the most popular and successful ukiyo-e designer in Japan, ahead of Kuniyoshi and Hiroshige. ... For information on how to read IPA transcriptions of English words see here. ... 1797 (MDCCXCVII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 11-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Edo (Japanese: 江戸, literally: bay-door, estuary, pronounced //), once also spelled Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of the Japanese capital Tokyo. ... October 12 is the 285th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (286th in leap years). ... 1858 (MDCCCLVIII) is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Sunday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... View of Mount Fuji from Satta Point in the Suruga Bay, ukiyo-e by Hiroshige, published 1859 Ukiyo-e ), pictures of the floating world, is a genre of Japanese woodblock prints produced between the 17th and the 20th century, featuring motifs of landscapes, the theater and pleasure quarters. ...

Early life

Hiroshige was born in 1797 and named "Andō Tokutarō" in the Yayosu barracks, just east of Edo Castle in the Yaesu area of Edo (present-day Tokyo). His father was Andō Gen'emon, a hereditary retainer (of the dōshin rank) of the shōgun. An official within the fire-fighting organization whose duty was to protect Edo Castle from fire, Gen'emon and his family, along with 30 other samurai, lived within one of the ten barracks; although their salary of sixty koku marked them as a minor family, it was a stable position, and a very easy one- Professor Seiichiro Takahashi characterizes a fireman's duties as largely consisting of revelry ^[2]. The 30 samurai officials of a barracks, including Gen'emon, would oversee the efforts of the 300 lower-class workers who also lived within the barracks. A few scraps of evidence indicate he was tutored by another fireman who taught him in the Chinese-influenced Kanō school of painting. Edo Castle (江戸城 -jō) was built in 1457 by ÅŒta Dōkan in what is now the Chiyoda ward of Tokyo, but was then known as Edo, Toshima District, Musashi Province. ... Taxis line up in front of the Yaesu side of Tokyo Station. ... Edo (Japanese: 江戸, literally: bay-door, estuary, pronounced //), once also spelled Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of the Japanese capital Tokyo. ... Tokyo , literally Eastern capital)   is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, the home of the Japanese Imperial Family, and the de facto[1] capital of Japan. ... Japanese samurai in armour, 1860s. ... A koku ) is a unit of volume in Japan, equal to ten cubic shaku. ... The Kanō school ) is one of the most famous schools of Japanese painting. ...

View of Mount Fuji from Satta Point in the Suruga Bay, woodcut by Hiroshige, published posthumously 1859.

Legend has it that Hiroshige determined to become a ukiyo-e artist when he saw the prints of his near-contemporary, Hokusai (Hokusai published some of his greatest prints, such as Thirty-six views of Mount Fuji, in 1832- the year Hiroshige devoted himself full-time to his art. From thence to Hokusai's death in 1849, their landscape works competed for the same customers). More likely though, like many other low-ranked samurai, Hiroshige's salary was insufficient for his needs, and this motivated him to look into artisanal crafts to supplement his income. It was easy to balance his job and his artistic pursuits as a fireman was only intermittently busy. Download high resolution version (500x750, 144 KB)Suruga, Satta no Kaijō (The sea off Satta, Suruga), no. ... Download high resolution version (500x750, 144 KB)Suruga, Satta no Kaijō (The sea off Satta, Suruga), no. ... 1859 (MDCCCLIX) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar). ... Beneath the Great Wave off Kanagawa[1] Katsushika Hokusai, (葛飾北斎), (1760 — 1849[2]), was an Edo period Japanese artist, painter, printmaker and ukiyo-e maker. ... In the Hollow of a Wave off the Coast at Kanagawa, woodcut by Katsushika Hokusai 36 Views of Mount Fuji (Japanese: 富嶽三十六景; Fugaku SanjÅ«-Rokkei) is a series of woodblock prints by the Japanese ukiyo-e artist Katsushika Hokusai (1760–1849), depicting Mount Fuji in differing seasons and weather conditions from...

His natural inclination towards drawing (as a child, he had played with miniature landscapes, and he was already moderately well-known for a remarkably accomplished (for his age) painting in 1806 of a procession of delegates to the Shogun from the Ryūkyū Islands) marked him for an artistic life. He began by being taught the Kano school's style by his friend, Okajima Rinsai. These studies (such as a study of perspective in the Dutch images imported) prepared him for an apprenticeship. He first attempted to enter the studio of the extremely successful Utagawa Toyokuni, but was rejected. Thus, he eventually embarked (he was rejected again upon his first attempt to enter Toyohiro's studio) upon an apprenticeship at the age of 15 in 1811 with the noted Utagawa Toyohiro instead of with Toyokuni; Toyohiro bestowed upon him the name "Utagawa" after only a year (apparently, artistic names would normally be granted after two or three years). Hiroshige would later take his master's name, becoming "Ichiyusai Hiroshige." Minamoto no Yoritomo, the first shogun of the Kamakura shogunate Shogun ) is a military rank and historical title in Japan. ... Location of Ryukyu Islands. ... Kanō school (狩野派 Kanō-ha) is a school of professional artists in Japan. ... A square in two-point perspective. ... Utagawa Toyokuni (1769 - 1825) (Japanese: 歌川豐國), also often referred to as Toyokuni I, to distinguish him from the members of his school who took over his gō (art-name) after he died was a great master of the Japanese woodblock print, known in particular for his... Utagawa Toyohiro (1773-1828) was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist, who was a member of the Utagawa school; he is chiefly remembered for having taught Utagawa Hiroshige. ...

In his early apprenticeship to Toyohiro, he showed little sign of the artistic genius he would later be known for, and did not publish much; despite earning an artistic name ("Ichiyūsai Hiroshige") and school license at the young age of 15, Hiroshige's first genuinely original publications came only in 1818 (six years later; this was also the year he was commended for his heroism in fighting a fire at Ogawa-nichi) with his Eight Views of Lake Biwa and Ten Famous Places in the Eastern Capital. These were moderately successful, but his Famous Places in the Eastern Capital (1831) attracted his first real notice. It is speculated he wiled away the interim between his initial apprenticeship and 1818 engaging in work for Toyohiro's school, like painting fans and other small items- this sort of work would support him as he continued to study Kanō and Shijō painting styles. But all these were but precursors to the series of prints that made him famous. In 1832, Hiroshige was invited to join an embassy of Shogunal officials to the Imperial court; as his own son, Nakajiro, could handle Hiroshige's fireman duties, Hiroshige joined it, and carefully observed the Tōkaidō Road (or "Eastern Sea Route"), which wended its way along the shoreline, through a snowy mountain range, past Lake Biwa, and finally to Kyōto. His series would be called The Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō. The series was a smashing success, and Hiroshige's career assured (though he would never live in much financial comfort, even in his old age). Lake Biwa ), formerly known as ÅŒmi Lake, is the largest fresh water lake in Japan, located in Shiga Prefecture (west-central Honshu), northeast of the former capital city of Kyoto. ... Imperial Court in Kyoto was the nominal ruling government of Japan since 794 until the Meiji Era, in which the court was moved to Tokyo and was integrated into the Meiji government. ... Tōkaidō (東海道) (literally, East Sea Route) may refer to: National Route 1, which link Tokyo and Osaka The Tōkaidō Main Line, which links Tokyo and Kobe One of the Edo Five Routes, which linked Edo (now Tokyo) and Kyoto along the shore (see below) An ancient route from the... Lake Biwa ), formerly known as ÅŒmi Lake, is the largest fresh water lake in Japan, located in Shiga Prefecture (west-central Honshu), northeast of the former capital city of Kyoto. ... This article is about the city Kyoto. ...

In 1839, Hiroshige's first wife, a woman from the Okabe family, died. Hiroshige re-married, taking to wife O-yasu, daughter of a farmer named Kaemon

This 1857 print from Hiroshige's 100 Famous Views of Edo draws upon folklore, depicting a gathering of kitsune.

Hiroshige lived in the barracks until he turned 43 years of age. Gen'emon and his wife died in 1809, when Hiroshige was 12 years old, just a few months after his father passed the position onto him. He did not shirk his (admittedly light) duties as a fire-fighter, fulfilling them even after he had entered training in Utagawa Toyohiro's ukiyo-e school in 1811, and even when he had become an acclaimed wood-block print artist. He eventually turned his position over to Hiroshige III in 1832. Hiroshige II was a young print artist named Shigenobu, who married Hiroshige's daughter (either adoptive or from his second marriage), Tatsu; Hiroshige intended to make Shigenobu his heir in all matters, but Tatsu and Shigenobu separated. Shigenobu nevertheless began using the name Hiroshige and so is known as Hiroshige II. Tatsu remarried to another artist, named Shigemasa, who became Hiroshige's heir, as a fireman and in using his name; he is known as Hiroshige III. Neither II nor III were as good artists as was the original. 1857 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Japanese mythology is a complex system of beliefs. ... A real kitsune, a Japanese subspecies of the red fox, in Hokkaido, Japan. ... Firefighter with an axe A firefighter, sometimes still called a fireman though women have increasingly joined firefighting units, is a person who is trained and equipped to put out fires, rescue people and in some areas provide emergency medical services. ... Utagawa Toyohiro (1773-1828) was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist, who was a member of the Utagawa school; he is chiefly remembered for having taught Utagawa Hiroshige. ...

In his declining years, Hiroshige still produced thousands of prints to meet the demand for his works, but few were as good as those of his early and middle periods. In no small part, his prolificacy stemmed from the fact that he was poorly paid per series, although he was still capable of remarkable art when the conditions were right- his great 100 Famous Views of Edo was paid for up front by a wealthy Buddhist priest in love with the publisher's (one Uoya Eikichi a successful fishmonger turned publisher), daughter. Buddhism is a dharmic, non-theistic religion, a philosophy, and a life-enhancing system of psychology. ...

In 1856, Hiroshige "retired from the world," becoming a Buddhist monk; this was the year he began his One Hundred Famous Views of Edo. He died aged 62 during the great Edo cholera epidemic of 1858 (whether the epidemic killed him or not is unknown) and was buried in a Zen Buddhist temple in Asakusa; just before his death, he left a poem: Cholera is a water-borne disease caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae, which is typically ingested by drinking contaminated water, or by eating improperly cooked fish, especially shellfish. ... A woodblock print by Yoshitoshi, (Japan, 1887) depicting Bodhidharma the founder of Chinese Zen. ... The Kaminarimon is the outer gate of the Sensoji, Asakusas famous temple. ...

"I leave my brush in the East

And set forth on my journey.

I shall see the famous places in the Western Land."

(The Western Land in this context refers to the strip of land by the Tōkaidō between Kyoto and Edo, but it does double duty as a reference to the Paradise of the Amida Buddha). The Big Buddha in Kamakura, an image of Amitabha Amitābha (阿彌陀佛 Ch. ...

Works

A rather dark printing of the view sometimes dubbed "Man on Horseback Crossing a Bridge". From the series Sixty-nine Stations of the Kisokaidō, this is View 28 and Station 27 at Nagakubo, depicting the Wada Bridge across the Yoda River[1].

Hiroshige largely confined himself to common ukiyo-e themes such as women (bijin-ga) and actors (yakushae). Only when he was 27 did he transfer the headship of his clan to his uncle. But Hiroshige made a dramatic turnabout, when after 17 years, Toyohiro died, and Hiroshige came out with the landscape series Famous Views of the Eastern Capital, [Tōto Meisho (東都名所)] (1831), which was critically acclaimed for its composition and colors. This set is generally distinguished from Hiroshige's many print sets depicting Edo by referring to it as Ichiyuusai Gakki, a title derived from the fact that he signed it as Ichiyuusai Hiroshige. With Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō (1833 – 1834), his success was assured; the prints, drawn from Hiroshige's actual travels of the full 490 kilometers, along with details of day, location, and anecdotes of his fellow travelers, were immensely popular. In fact, this series was so popular that he would later reissue it in three versions, one made jointly with Kunisada. ^[3] Hiroshige would go on to produce more than 2000 (of his estimated total 5000) different prints of stops along the Edo and Tōkaidō Road, as well as series such as Sixty-nine Stations of the Kisokaidō (1834-1842). Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (3097x1973, 1378 KB) Source: http://visipix. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (3097x1973, 1378 KB) Source: http://visipix. ...

He dominated landscape prints with his unique brand of intimate, almost small-scale works (at least when compared against the older traditions of landscape painting descended from Chinese landscape painters through Sesshu). The travel prints generally depict travelers along the famous routes traveling and experiencing the special attractions of various stops along the way. They travel in the rain, the snow, and during all of the seasons. In 1856, working with the publisher Uoya Eikichi, he created a series of high quality prints, made with the finest printing techniques including true gradation of color, the addition of mica to lend a unique iridescent effect, embossing, fabric printing, blind printing, and the use of glue printing (wherein ink is mixed with glue for a glittery effect). One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (issued serially between 1856 and 1859) was immensely popular. The set was not published until after his death, so not all of the prints were completed by him--he created over 100 on his own, but two were added by Hiroshige II after his death. Shukei-sansui (Autumn Landscape), by Sesshu Toyo Sesshu Toyo (雪舟 等楊), 1420-1506, is one of the most prominent masters of suiboku (ink painting), and a Zen Buddhist priest. ... Rock with mica Mica sheet Mica flakes The mica group of sheet silicate minerals includes several closely related materials having highly perfect basal cleavage. ...

Influence

The younger rival of Katsushika Hokusai, Hiroshige was a member of the Utagawa school, along with Kunisada (1786-1865) and Kuniyoshi (1797-1861). The Utagawa school, containing hundreds of artists, stood at the forefront of nineteenth century woodblock prints. Particularly noteworthy for their actor and historical prints, members of the Utagawa school were nonetheless well-versed in all of the popular genres.

During Hiroshige’s time, the print industry was booming and the consumer audience of prints was growing rapidly. Previously, prints had been issued in sets of ten or twelve, but the number of prints within a set was increasing at this time. This trend can be seen in Hiroshige’s own work, from Sixty-nine Stations of the Kisokaidō to One Hundred Famous Views of Edo.

In terms of his style, Hiroshige is especially noted for using unusual vantage points, seasonal allusions, and striking colors. He adapted Western principles of perspective and receding space to his own works in order to achieve a sense of realistic depth. Even more, he worked extensively within the realm of meishoe, pictures of famous places. During the Edo Period, tourism was also booming, leading to increased popular interest in travel. Travel guides abounded and towns appeared along routes such as the Tôkaidô, the road that connected Edo with Kyoto. In the midst of this burgeoning travel culture, Hiroshige drew upon his own travels and tales of others’ adventures for inspiration in creating his landscapes. For example, in Fifty-three Stages on the Tōkaidō (1833) he illustrates anecdotes from Travels on the Eastern Seaboard (Tōkaidōchū Hizakurige, 1802-1809) by Jippensha Ikku, a comedy describing the adventures of two bumbling travelers as they make their way along the same road. Jippensha Ikku , 1765 – 1831) was a Japanese writer in the late Edo period. ...

Hiroshige’s Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō (1833 – 1834) and 100 Famous Views of Edo (1856 – 1858) greatly influenced French Impressionists like Monet. Vincent Van Gogh also copied two of the Hundred Famous Views of Edo. Hiroshige also influenced the Mir iskusstva, a 20th century Russian art movement of which Ivan Bilibin was a major artist. See also Impressionist (entertainment): A girl with a watering can by Renoir, 1876 Impressionism was a 19th century art movement, which began as a private association of Paris-based artists who exhibited publicly in 1874. ... Oscar-Claude Monet (November 14, 1840 - December 5, 1926), French impressionist painter. ... Vincent van Gogh (; Dutch: ) (March 30, 1853 in Zundert – July 29, 1890 in Auvers-sur-Oise) was a Dutch draughtsman and painter, classified as a Post-Impressionist. ... Miriskusniki tended to idealize the 18th century as the quintessential Age of Art. ... Ivan Ya. ...

See also

• Kunisada
• Kuniyoshi
• Van Gogh
• Monet

Utagawa Kunisada (1786 - 1865) (Japanese: 歌川国貞, known as Utagawa Tokokuni III 三代歌川豊国 later in his career) was known in his time as the most popular and successful ukiyo-e designer in Japan, ahead of Kuniyoshi and Hiroshige. ... Utagawa Kuniyoshi (Japanese: 歌川国芳) (1798 - 1861) was one of the last great masters of the Japanese woodblock print. ... van gogh is a piece of shit Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890), Netherlands artist. ... Oscar-Claude Monet (November 14, 1840 - December 5, 1926), French impressionist painter. ...

References

1. ^ See Introduction of Henry D. Smith II; 1986
2. ^ "The firemen of his day appear to have actually spent most of their time gambling, drinking, or otherwise amusing themselves." pg 2 of Ando Hiroshige, authored by Professor Sei-ichiro Takahashi (head of the Japan Art Academy and Minister of Education in 1947), trans. by Charles S. Terry; published by the Charles E. Tuttle Company in 1956.
3. ^ Christine Guth, Art of Edo Japan: The Artist and the City, 1615-1868 (Harry Abrams, 1996). ISBN 0-8109-2730-6

• Hiroshige: One Hundred Famous Views of Edo, paperback, 1986. Smith II, Henry D.; Poster, G Amy; Lehman, L. Arnold. Publisher: George Braziller Inc, plates from the Brooklyn Museum. ISBN 0-87273-141-3
• Ukiyo-e: 250 years of Japanese Art, hardcover, 1979. Toni Neuer, Herbert Libertson, Susugu Yoshida; W. H. Smith. ISBN 0-8317-9041-5

Tuttle Publishing which includes Tuttle, Periplus Editions, and, Journey Editions, was founded by Charles E. Tuttle (1915-1993) in Tokyo in 1948. ... The Brooklyn Museum, located at 200 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, New York, is the second largest art museum in New York City, and one of the largest in the United States. ...

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ichiyusai Hiroshige

• Article at Encyclopedia Britannica
• Images & descriptions of works by Hiroshige and his contemporaries
• Ando Hiroshige- Free source of information and pictures
• Hiroshige at WebMuseum Paris
• Christian Science Monitor article
• Profile of Hiroshige

Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... Wikimedia Commons logo by Reid Beels The Wikimedia Commons (also called Commons or Wikicommons) is a repository of free content images, sound and other multimedia files. ... The Encyclopædia Britannica is a general encyclopedia published by Encyclopædia Britannica Inc. ... 1797 (MDCCXCVII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 11-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Edo (Japanese: 江戸, literally: bay-door, estuary, pronounced //), once also spelled Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of the Japanese capital Tokyo. ... October 12 is the 285th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (286th in leap years). ... 1858 (MDCCCLVIII) is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Sunday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Edo (Japanese: 江戸, literally: bay-door, estuary, pronounced //), once also spelled Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of the Japanese capital Tokyo. ...