山海見立相撲 備前偸賀山|Mount Yuga in Bizen Province (Bizen Yugasan), from the series Wrestling Matches between Mountains and Seas (Sankai mitate zumō)
8th month, 1858
Medium
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Dimensions
8 3/4 x 13 in. (22.2 x 33 cm)
Classification
Prints
Culture & Period
Japan · Edo period (1615–1868)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Howard Mansfield Collection, Purchase, Rogers Fund, 1936
Accession Number
JP2468
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the whimsical series *Wrestling Matches between Mountains Seas (Sankai mitateō)*, Utagawa Hiroshige, a master of ukiyo woodblock prints, transforms Japan's natural wonders into sumo wrestlers locked in playful combat. Created in the 8th month of 1858 during the late Edo period (1615–1868), this print features Mount Yuga in Bizen Province (present-day Okayama Prefecture). Hiroshige anthropomorphizes the majestic, snow-capped peak as a burly wrestler grappling with a surging sea opponent, blending humor with his signature landscape prowess. Hiroshige's woodblock technique—ink and color on pa...
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...