Night Rain at the Paulownia Grove at Akasaka (Akasaka Kiribatake uchu yukei), from the series "One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (Meisho Edo hyakkei)"
Medium
Color woodblock print; oban
Dimensions
35.1 × 24.5 cm (13 13/16 × 9 5/8 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
13229
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
After Utagawa Hiroshige died in 1858, this print was issued with the rest of the series in 1859. Many scholars believe that the blocks for one of the original views were lost, and that Hiroshige’s successor, Hiroshige II, created this design to replace it. The diagonal lines in the composition and the careful gradation of the mist and distant trees suggest that the young artist wanted to differentiate himself from Hiroshige.
About the Artist
Utagawa Hiroshige II (Shigenobu) · 1826–1869
Utagawa Hiroshige II, born Suzuki Chinpei in 1826, was one of the most accomplished ukiyo-e artists of mid-nineteenth century Japan. He entered the studio of the celebrated landscape master Utagawa Hiroshige I — known for his iconic series "The Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido" — and proved himself the most talented of the elder artist's few students. So highly regarded was the young pupil that...