Maple Leaves in Shimosa Province (Shimosa, momiji), section of sheet no. 7 from the series "Cutout Pictures of the Provinces (Kunizukushi harimaze zue)"
Medium
Color woodblock print; section of harimaze sheet
Dimensions
20 × 10.1 cm (7 7/8 × 4 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
88478
Art Historical Context
This delicate woodblock print by Utagawa Hiroshige captures the quiet beauty of autumn in Shimosa Province through a cluster of vibrant maple leaves. Created in 1852 during Japan’s Edo period, the image forms part of the artist’s inventive series “Cutout Pictures of the Provinces,” designed as a harimaze sheet—an assemblage of small, separate scenes that viewers could cut apart and paste into albums or screens. Hiroshige, celebrated for his poetic landscapes and keen observation of seasonal change, distills an entire region’s essence into this modest 20-by-10-centimeter fragment. The print ex...
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...