Utagawa Hiroshige prints depict scenes of everyday life

Cherry Blossoms on a Moonless Night along the Sumida River, 1847-8, Utagawa Hiroshige, Colour-woodblock print triptych
Gift from the collection of Alan Medaugh to the American Friends of the British Museum © Alan Medaugh. Photography by Matsuba Ryōko

Utagawa Hiroshige

In a sweeping exhibition, a showcase of works by renowned artist Utagawa Hiroshige is giving a timely spotlight to a unique genre: the art form of Ukiyo-e, Japanese woodblock prints.

Gallery Shot One © The Trustees of the British Museum

Amazingly colourful landscapes, celebrated kabuki performers, beautiful women and courtesans, sumo wrestlers, flora, fauna and stories of travel and adventures have been printed and produced in the highly distinctive and fascinating form of Ukiyo-e.

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Japanese woodblock prints depict scenes of everyday life, urban and rural settings, and became representative of popular culture.

These prints resemble the vast imagery proliferating in modern-day posters, advertisements, and media.

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The art form developed in Japan in the 1600s and gained popularity and affordability during a period of enormous economic prosperity, sustained peace, and population growth during Japan’s Edo period (1615-1868).

Evening View of the Eight Scenic Spots of Kanazawa in Musashi Province, 1857, Utagawa Hiroshige Colour-woodblock print triptych
Collection of Alan Medaugh © Alan Medaugh

The Edo period emerged after centuries of war, marking a time of relative stability and prosperity. Edo, now modern-day Tokyo, was the centre of power during this period.

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It was Japan’s largest and most populous city, with over a million people by the mid-eighteenth century.

There was a strict social hierarchy with four broad groups.

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At the top were the hereditary warrior class of samurai. Then came the farmers/ peasants, artisans and merchants. 

Pictures of the floating world

Ukiyo-e translates to pictures of the floating world, which developed during a particular time of historical and cultural circumstances.

Its original meaning came from a Japanese Buddhist term referring to the transitory and fleeting nature of life or existence.

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However, the term “floating world” would later become a reference to Yoshiwara, the hedonistic pleasure quarters of Edo, which included restaurants, teahouses, brothels, theatres, and various forms of entertainment frequented by those who had become very wealthy during that time.

The lives and stories of the people of the floating world were recounted in highly illustrated novels.

Ferry on the Fuji River, Suruga Province from Famous Places in Japan, c.1832, Utagawa Hiroshige Colour-woodblock print
© The Trustees of the British Museum

The Tales of the Floating World, 1661, by Asai Ryoi, described this idealised world as a life to be enjoyed for momentary pleasures.

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The novel’s theme and its popularisation of the metaphor of the vibrancy of life and nature influenced the burgeoning art of Ukiyo-e, which became a form of advertisement for the distractions and delightful amusements in the floating world.

Stunning nuanced effects

Early Japanese prints were rudimentary monochromes made for novels. Later, publishers released and sold prints as individual sheets with basic colour palettes.

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With new technological advances and the availability of pigments, the art form evolved into stunning and beautifully nuanced works with amazing effects.

Nihonbashi – Morning Scene, from The 53 Stations of the Tōkaidō, c.1833-35, Utagawa Hiroshige, colour-woodblock print
© The Trustees of the British Museum

The process was highly creative, skilled and complex. It required expert craftsmanship on an industrial scale, and print production demanded close collaboration of the artist, publisher, wood carvers and printers.

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A publisher would commission an artist to design a work or a series of prints. The artist would provide a drawing on a thin paper sheet and instructions for the wood carvers and printers.

Seba from The 69 Stations of the Kiso Highway, late 1830s, Utagawa Hiroshige, Colour-woodblock print
© The Trustees of the British Museum

Wood carvers would carve out the negative of the design to provide the block for applying ink. Paper would then be pressed onto the top of the inked block to print the design.

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The most basic and earliest form of Ukiyo-e was printed using a single wood block and only black ink.

As the art form evolved, the methodology became highly sophisticated. With the advancement in tools and techniques, the process progressed to using multiple carved wood blocks to apply various colours.

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One carved wood block was needed for each individual colour.

Awa: The Rough Seas at Naruto from Illustrated Guide to Famous Places in the 60-odd Provinces, 1855, Utagawa Hiroshige
Colour-woodblock print, Collection of Alan Medaugh © Alan Medaugh

This required highly dedicated and skilled wood carvers with specialised expertise and mastery for etching intricate and fine, delicate details.

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The printing workshop would print a sheet of paper with the lightest colour first, then sequentially add to it with wood blocks inked with progressively darker colours, until the last and darkest colour was applied.

Pleasure Boats at Ryōgoku in the Eastern Capital, 1832-4, Utagawa Hiroshige, Colour-woodblock print triptych
Collection of Alan Medaugh © Alan Medaugh. Photography by Matsuba Ryōko

Some of the most colourful and vibrant prints required twenty or more carved wood blocks. All these processes were done by hand.

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These prints were favoured because they could be mass-produced inexpensively.

Mt. Fuji and Otodome Fall, about 1849-52, Utagawa Hiroshige Colour-woodblock print
Collection of Alan Medaugh © Alan Medaugh. Photography by Matsuba Ryōko

It provided affordable, vibrant decoration, illustrations and artwork for ordinary people. Demand for these prints drove commercially viable production, and print artists became celebrities.

As Ukiyo-e proliferated, it found its way to the West, giving rise to a wave of admiration for Japanese art and culture.

Japonisme infatuation

The French term Japonisme refers to the European infatuation with Japanese art and design in the nineteenth century.

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Japanese print art, with its fresh style and vibrancy, impacted and inspired art movements and artists, such as Impressionist artist Claude Monet and Post-Impressionist Vincent van Gogh. 

The Plum Garden at Kameido from 100 Famous Views of Edo, 1857, Utagawa Hiroshige, colour-woodblock print
Collection of Alan Medaugh © Alan Medaugh. Photography by Matsuba Ryōko

In Giverny, the country home of Monet, these influences are on display in the garden, which was designed to replicate the aesthetics of Ukiyo-e.

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Monet’s estate is fashioned with a Japanese bridge and a water lily pond, which the artist used as a model for his epic Water Lilies series.

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Monet’s private Ukiyo-e collection included the works of one of the most prolific artists, Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858).

Gallery Shot Four © The Trustees of the British Museum

The works of this master artist are now on show at the British Museum. Hiroshige: Artist of the Open Road provides insights into the history and influence of this genre of work and its reverberations.

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Although he was born into a samurai family, Hiroshige chose to become an artist.

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Over a forty-year career, he created accessible art for a broad audience during the last decades of the Edo period.

Crane and asters (early 1830s) [left] Three geese and full moon (early 1830s) [centre] Pheasant and chrysanthemums (early 1830s) [right], Utagawa Hiroshige, Colour-woodblock prints, Hiroshige

He designed over 5,000 prints, hundreds of paintings and dozens of illustrated books on every subject matter.

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Hiroshige documented all facets of life during that period, capturing multiple aspects of Japan, from birds in nature to elaborately dressed figures and urban scenes.

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Amongst his most spectacular works on show, a whole section explores Hiroshige’s travel series.

Tōkaidō Autumn Moon: Restaurants at Kanagawa, Musashi Province, about 1839, Utagawa Hiroshige, colour-woodblock print
Collection of Alan Medaugh © Alan Medaugh

It presents some of his landscape serials, such as the Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō Highway (1833-35) and One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (1856-58), showing his artistic flair for storytelling.

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Some prints are on display for the first time, and alongside paintings, books and sketches, offer vivid insights into Hiroshige’s world, where nature, culture, and imagination effortlessly coincide. 

Hiroshige: Artist of the Open Road reinforces Utagawa Hiroshige’s place as a Japanese artistic visionary and icon of international and historical standing.

Text Cammy Yiu / Photos courtesy of the British Museum

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