Special Spring Exhibition The Famous Places of Edo as Seen through Hiroshige’s Eyes: One Hundred Famous Views of Edo
Exhibit Period
First Half: Friday, April 18 - Sunday, May 18, 2014
Second Half: Friday, May 23 - Sunday, June 22, 2014
Exhibit Times
9:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
(last admissions at 4:30 p.m.)
Organized by
Nakagawa-machi Bato Hiroshige Museum of Art
Museum closed
April 21; May 7, 12; the exhibit change period (May 19-22); May 26; June 2, 9, 16
Admission Fee
Adults: 700 (630) yen High School, College Students: 400 (360) yen * Fees in parentheses are group rates for 20 or more visitors * Free admission for elementary and junior high school students, and preschoolers * Half price for visitors with a physical disability certificate, and half price for one accompanying caregiver
Overview
At the age of 60, ukiyo-e artist Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858) began a new project. Although he enthusiastically started production of this comprehensive work which would include every famous view in Tokyo, he died two years later at age 62, having produced 118 works. His publisher, Uoya Eikichi finished the project by rounding it out to 120 works. One of the remaining two works, “Evening View, Paulownia Garden at Akasaka in the Rain,” was produced by Hiroshige II, and the other work was designed by Baisotei Gengyu-a table of contents organizing the series into spring, summer, autumn and winter works (one other print, a memorial portrait of Hiroshige, was added to the album). However, the work was not the comprehensive work including every famous view in Tokyo that Hiroshige envisioned. There are censor’s approval seal revisions from February 1856 until April 1859, a total of 21 different publishing approval seals over about 3 years. Baisotei Gengyu organized the series into 42 spring, 31 summer, 26 autumn and 20 winter work selections. Hiroshige had been strongly motivated towards this work, and challenged himself with a variety of new techniques, including clever compositions set in boldly simplified scene structures, deconstructed compositions that pushed the limits of balance, radical compositions with large format close-ups, and freedom in coloring.
This exhibit features Hiroshige’s masterpiece series, begun only one year after the Great Ansei Edo Earthquake. Trying to draw the famous places of Edo and leave none out, Hiroshige was very keen on this work. Hiroshige drew none of the destruction from the earthquake. Perhaps he wanted to depict a reconstructed Edo while the city of Edo was still in the process of being rebuilt. Join Hiroshige for a look at the reborn cityscapes of Edo.
Museum Talk
Saturday, May 31 from 1:30 p.m. (museum admission fee required)
Lecture
Commemorative Lecture
Saturday, June 14 from 1:30 p.m.; in the Audio-Visual Room
Presented by Shinya Ichikawa, Museum Director, Hiroshige Bato Museum of Art
Title: Highlights from One Hundred Famous Views of Edo
Admission is free (open to the first 50 visitors)