東都三十六景　隅田川三囲り堤|Sumidagawa, Mimeguri

Art Historical Context

Utagawa Hiroshige1797–1858), a master of ukiyo-e wood prints, created *Sumidagawa, Mimeuri* from his late series *Tōto Sanjūrokkei* (Thirty-six Views of Edo) in the 3rd month of the year 1868, near the end of the Edo period. This intimate print captures a nocturnal scene along the Sumida River at Mimeguri dike in Edo (modern Tokyo), blending the city's vibrant urban life with natural beauty. Hiroshige's genius lies in his ability to evoke mood through subtle gradients and light effects, hallmarks of his landscape style that influenced Western artists like Van Gogh and Monet. The woodblock print, rendered in ink and color on paper (14 15/32 x 9 4/5 in.), depicts figures—men and women—strolling under a luminous full moon, framed by riverside trees. This nighttime vista highlights Hiroshige's mastery of *barabara-zuri* (scattered printing) for dynamic composition and atmospheric depth, with the moon's glow casting ethereal reflections on the water. Such scenes celebrated Edo's pleasure districts and seasonal outings, reflecting the era's fascination with *ukiyo*—the "floating world" of fleeting joys. As one of the last prints from Hiroshige's oeuvre, it poignantly preserves vanishing Edo traditions just before the Meiji Restoration transformed Japan. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Asian Art Department (Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1918), it invites visitors to savor the poetic harmony of humanity and nature in Japan's golden age of printmaking.

About the Artist

Utagawa Hiroshige · 1826–1869

Utagawa Hiroshige (1797–1858), born Andō Tokutarō, was the last great master of Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock printmaking and one of the most influential landscape artists in history. Born in Edo (modern Tokyo) into a low-ranking samurai family serving as fire wardens, Hiroshige transformed landscape printmaking into a poetic meditation on nature, weather, and everyday life. His revolutionary approac...