Shinano Province: The Moon Reflected in the Sarashina Rice Fields near Mount Kyôdai (Shinano, Sarashina tagoto no tsuki, Kyōdaisan), from the series Famous Places in the Sixty-Odd Provinces (Rokujūyoshū meisho zue)
Medium
Color woodblock print; ōban
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
12530
Art Historical Context
In Utagawa Hiroshige's masterful *Shinano Province: The Reflected in the Sarina Rice Fields near Mount Kyôdai* (1853), part of his renowned series *Famous Places the Sixty-Odd Provinces we glimpse the poetic beauty of rural Japan. Hiroshige, a leading figure in the ukiyo-e ("pictures of the floating world") movement, traveled extensively to capture the essence of Japan's landscapes. This print from Shinano Province (modern Nagano) depicts a tranquil night scene: the full moon's glow shimmering across flooded rice paddies, framed by the silhouette of Mount Kyôdai and distant travelers with lant...
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...