江戸近郊八景之内 玉川秋月|Autumn Moon on the Tama River
ca. 1838
Medium
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Dimensions
H. 9 3/8 in. (23.8 cm); W. 14 5/16 in. (36.4 cm)
Classification
Prints
Culture & Period
Japan · Edo period (1615–1868)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929
Accession Number
JP1887
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the serene glow of an autumn moon, Utagawa Hiroshige captures tranquil beauty of the Tama River in this woodblock print from his series *Eight Views of Environs of Edo (ca. 1838). Part of a popular ukiyo-e tradition—meaning "pictures of the floating world"—the artwork depicts boats gliding along the river beneath a luminous full moon, framed by silhouetted trees. These intimate landscapes celebrated everyday scenery around Edo (modern Tokyo), offering city dwellers an escape into nature's poetry. Hiroshige, a master of the genre alongside Hokusai, revolutionized landscape prints with his a...
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...