山海見立相撲 摂津安治川口|The Harbor of Ajikawa, Settsu Province
Medium
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Dimensions
9 11/16 x 14 1/4 in. (24.6 x 36.2 cm)
Classification
Prints
Culture & Period
Japan · Edo period (1615–1868)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1918
Accession Number
JP625
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
Art Historical Context
Utagawa Hiroshige *The Harbor of Ajikawa, Settsu Province* (8) captures the bustling energy of a coastal harbor during Japan's Edo period (1615–1868). This woodblock print, part of Hiroshige's renowned landscape series, depicts boats dotting the calm waters of Ajikawa in Settsu Province (modern-day Osaka area), with distant mountains framing the scene. Hiroshige, a master the ukiyo-e ("pictures of the floating world") tradition, excelled at evoking the transient beauty of nature and everyday life, making this work a vivid snapshot of 19th-century maritime commerce and leisure. Printed with in...
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...