Night Rain at the Paulownia Grove at Akasaka (Akasaka Kiribatake uchu yukei), from the series "One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (Meisho Edo hyakkei)"
Medium
Color woodblock print; oban
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
88457
Art Historical Context
This evocative color woodblock print belongs to the celebrated series *One Hundred Famous Views of Edo*, published in 1859 during the final years of the Edo period. Created by Utagawa Hiroshige II (also known as Shigenobu), a dedicated pupil and successor to the renowned Hiroshige I, the work captures the atmospheric mood of Night Rain at the Paulownia Grove at Akasaka. As part of this landmark series, it reflects the ukiyo-e tradition of documenting celebrated sites around the bustling capital, offering viewers a poetic glimpse into everyday life and seasonal beauty in what is now Tokyo. Exe...
About the Artist
Utagawa Hiroshige II (Shigenobu) · 1826–1869
Utagawa Hiroshige II, born Suzuki Chinpei in 1826, was one of the most accomplished ukiyo-e artists of mid-nineteenth century Japan. He entered the studio of the celebrated landscape master Utagawa Hiroshige I — known for his iconic series "The Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido" — and proved himself the most talented of the elder artist's few students. So highly regarded was the young pupil that...