Utagawa Hiroshige "Cherry Blossoms on the Banks of the Tama River", 1940s Reproduction Print N24

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A rare vintage reproduction print after the original woodblock print "Cherry Blossoms on the Banks of the Tama River" by … Read more A rare vintage reproduction print after the original woodblock print "Cherry Blossoms on the Banks of the Tama River" by Utagawa Hiroshige, also known as Ando Hiroshige (1797 - 1858), from the series Meisho Edo hyakkei (100 famous views of Edo), 1857. Signed Hiroshige ga. This is not a woodblock reproduction print, but a quality offset print. Deep colors, heavy paper. Comes from an old collection of Japanese woodblock prints from North New Jersey estate. Japan, circa 1940s. Excellent condition - minor edge wear, never framed.

We have 80-90 prints from One Hundred Views of Edo in our collection and we will be regularly adding them to our Print Shop.

Ando Hiroshige (1797 - October 12, 1858) was born in 1797 under the name of Ando Tokutaro in Edo (Tokyo) as the son of a samurai and fireman. He became one of the greatest masters of ukiyo-e (Japanese woodblock prints), especially in the genre of Japanese landscape prints.

At the age of twelve, both his parents died. Two years later, in 1811, the young Hiroshige received a chance to join the famous Utagawa painting school. At that time, the ukiyo-e master Toyohiro Utagawa was the head of the studio. In 1812 he was formally allowed to take the name Utagawa. From then on he called himself Utagawa Hiroshige. In the ukiyo-e literature he is usually referenced as Hiroshige Ando.

The first work by Utagawa Hiroshige was a book illustration published in 1818, when he was 21 years old. Until 1830, Hiroshige created prints in the traditional style learned from his master Toyohiro Utagawa. His early commissions were book illustrations. Typical subjects out of that time are kabuki actors prints, beautiful women and a few warrior prints.

From 1830 on, Hiroshige Utagawa tried his luck with a new genre - landscape prints. One of his great masterpieces is the series Tokaido gojusan-tsugi no uchi created from 1833 to 1834 with 55 Hiroshige prints in oban format. In the literature you will find slightly varying English translations like Fifty-three Stages of the Tokaido or From the Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido. The Tokaido was a coastal highway connecting Edo with Kyoto, the residence of the emperor. The stations must be imagined as a kind of turn-pikes where tolls had to be paid. The stations had lodges and simple restaurants where travelers could spend the night and get a meal. The Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido became the basis of Hiroshige's fame and commercial success. For the next twenty years he concentrated his efforts on landscape prints.

Ukiyo-e publishing in the last century was not a cultural institution subsidized by public funds, but rather a commercial business like book publishing or a movie production in our time. And when a film turns out to become a big success, the public is asking for more, and the producer is only too happy to prepare the next follow-up. Print publishing in the Edo period was not different. And so Hiroshige Utagawa produced more series of the Tokaido.

Other famous series produced by Utagawa Hiroshige are:

Famous Places of the Eastern Capital (meaning Edo).
Famous Places of Kyoto.
Famous Places in the Sixty-Odd Provinces.
Sixty-nine Stations of the Kiso Highway.
Eight Views of Lake Biwa.
Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji.

His last great series Meisho Edo Hyakkei, One Hundred Famous Views of Edo is considered as one of his greatest masterpieces.

During his lifetime, Ando Hiroshige was well known and commercially successful. But the Japanese society did not take too much notice of him. Comparable to Utamaro, his real reputation started with his discovery in Europe.

The late Hiroshige prints are considered as lower in quality. He had produced too many and too fast in order to meet the demand of the market. Hiroshige Utagawa died at the age of 62 of cholera on October 12, 1858 in Edo. With an output of an estimated 5,400 prints, Ando Hiroshige was one of the prolific artists of ukiyo-e. See less