東都名所 日本橋の白雨|Sunshower at Nihonbashi
1833–34
Medium
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Dimensions
10 1/8 x 15 in. (25.7 x 38.1 cm)
Classification
Prints
Culture & Period
Japan · Edo period (1615–1868)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1918
Accession Number
JP526
Tags
Art Historical Context
Utagawa Hiroshige *Sunshower at Nihbashi* (1833–34) captures a fleeting moment in Edo-period Japan, from his early series *Famous Places the Eastern Capital* (ōto meisho). Nihonbashi, a wooden bridge spanning the city's vital waterway, was the heart of commerce and travel in Edo (modern Tokyo). This woodblock print, just 10⅛ × 15 inches, exemplifies ukiyo-e—the "pictures of the floating world"—a genre celebrating ephemeral beauty amid urban life during the Edo period (1615–1868). Hiroshige masterfully renders a sudden summer downpour, with pedestrians huddled under umbrellas, boats dotting th...
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...