Zenkoji Temple and the Ferry at Kawaguchi (Kawaguchi no watashi Zenkoji), from the series "One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (Meisho Edo hyakkei)"
Medium
Color woodblock print; oban
Dimensions
35.5 × 24 cm (14 × 9 7/16 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
34225
Art Historical Context
Behold the serene beauty of *Zenkoji Temple and the Ferry Kawaguchi (Kaw no watashi Zenko)*, a captivating color woodblock print from Utagawa Hiroshige monumental series *One Hundred Famous of Edo (Meisho Edo hyakkei)*, created in 1857. This oban-sized work (35.5 × 24 cm) captures a tranquil riverside scene in Edo—modern-day Tokyo—where pilgrims cross by ferry toward the distant silhouette of Zenkoji Temple, framed by misty mountains and everyday life along the water. Hiroshige, a master of the ukiyo-e ("pictures of the floating world") tradition, elevated landscape printmaking with his poeti...
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...