山海見立相撲 摂津安治川口|The Harbor of Ajikawa, Settsu Province
Medium
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Dimensions
9 11/16 x 14 1/4 in. (24.6 x 36.2 cm)
Classification
Prints
Culture & Period
Japan · Edo period (1615–1868)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1918
Accession Number
JP625
Tags
Art Historical Context
Utagawa Hiroshige *The Harbor of Ajikawa, Settsu Province* (8) captures the bustling energy of a coastal harbor during Japan's Edo period (1615–1868). This woodblock print, part of Hiroshige's renowned landscape series, depicts boats dotting the calm waters of Ajikawa in Settsu Province (modern-day Osaka area), with distant mountains framing the scene. Hiroshige, a master the ukiyo-e ("pictures of the floating world") tradition, excelled at evoking the transient beauty of nature and everyday life, making this work a vivid snapshot of 19th-century maritime commerce and leisure. Printed with in...
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...