Bikuni Bridge in Snow (Bikunibashi setchu), from the series "One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (Meisho Edo hyakkei)"
Medium
Color woodblock print; oban
Dimensions
36 × 24 cm (14 3/16 × 9 7/16 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
26601
Art Historical Context
In the late Edo-period series *One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (Meo Edo hyakkei)*, Utagawa Hiroshige captures the bustling yet poetic spirit of 19th-century Tokyo (then Edo) through 118 stunning woodblock prints. Produced from 1856 to 1859, this was Hiroshige's final before his death, blending his signature landscape style with seasonal vignettes. *Bikuni Bridge in (Bikunibashi set)*, from 1858, depicts the arched bridge blanketed in winter hush, framed by distant temples and snow-dusted rooftops—a serene contrast to the city's vibrant energy. Hiroshige, a master of the ukiyo-e ("pictures of ...
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...