Totomi Province: The Narrow Inlet of Inasa near Kanzan Temple on Hamana Lake at Horie (Totomi, Hamana no umi, Horie Kanzanji, Inasa no hosoe), from the series "Famous Places in the Sixty-odd Provinces (Rokujuyoshu meisho zue)"
Medium
Color woodblock print; oban
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
130540
Art Historical Context
Utagawa Hiroshige's *Totomi Province: The Narrow Inlet of Inasa near Kanzan Temple on Hamana Lake at Horie* (1853) captures a serene moment in Japan's Totomi Province, part of his renowned series *Famous Places in the Sixty-odd Provinces (Rokujuyoshu meisho zue)*. This color woodblock print on oban paper depicts the tranquil inlet of Inasa near Kanzan Temple along Lake Hamana at Horie, blending misty waters, distant mountains, and subtle human figures in boats. Hiroshige, a master of the ukiyo-e tradition, immortalized overlooked provincial beauties during Japan's Edo period, when travel was g...
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...