Page 291 - Edo: Art in Japan, 1615–1868

148 149 Although the particular place is rela-
Ando Hiroshige (1797 -1858) Ando Hiroshige (1797 -1858) tively unimportant to the appeal of
Moon Pine at Ueno, from One Hundred Sudden Shower ouer Ôhashi Bridge, from this print, it is, as usual, a very spe-
Famous Views of Edo One Hundred Famous Views of Edo cific site, looking northeast over Shin-
Ohashi, or New Great Bridge — named
1856 1856
Color woodblock print Color woodblock print on its completion in 1693 with refer-
ence to the existing Ohashi (later
7
3
3
34 x 22.5 (i3 /8x8 /s) 33.7x22.2 (i3V4x8 / 4 )
Brooklyn Museum of Art Collection Brooklyn Museum of Art Collection Ryógoku Bridge) to the north. Atake
was an informal place name for the
area shown on the far bank, which
• It is difficult to believe that the site • We can almost hear the crack of
in this print, number 89 in the series, thunder as the roiling black clouds was named after a gigantic shogun
i,5OO-ton Atake-maru, which
ship, the
is the same one depicted in Odano burst into sheets of heavy rain,
290 was moored in front of the shogunal
Naotake's Shinobazu Pond (cat. 188). scattering the huddled shapes on the
The Benten Shrine in the middle of bridge below. On the blue gray ex- boathouses here from the 16305
1682. The
until it was dismantled in
the lake is just visible in the lower panse of the Sumida River a solitary
right. Both pictures owe a good deal boatman poles his log raft down- boathouses themselves remained,
barely visible here to the
far left. HDS
to western influence, seen here in the stream, undeterred by the storm. This
enlarging of the foreground element, is a yudachi (an evening descent of
but the resemblance stops there. the thunder god, as one etymology 150
Whereas Naotake's view is "cool," has it), a summer rain in which the Ando Hiroshige (1797 -1858)
Hiroshige's is "warm," presenting a heavens suddenly darken late in
Scattered Pines, Tone Riuer, from
tender portrait of a beloved sight. the day, releasing torrents of rain in One Hundred Famous Views of Edo
Like the Sleeping Dragon Plum at large drops, and then quickly clear.
Kameido, the Moon Pine at Ueno was 1856
This print is the undisputed master-
a botanical anomaly. As is clear from piece of the series. It bears compari- Color woodblock print
7
3
the illustration, one branch of the tree son in its universal appeal with 34 x 22.5 (i3 /8x8 /s)
grew in a complete circle. Within the another of Hiroshige's most famous Brooklyn Museum of Art Collection
circle Hiroshige has wittily included
the central of the three fire towers landscapes, "Shono," from The Fifty- • The outstretched form of the fisher-
three Stations of the Tôkaidô, with
on the horizon. man's net at the right side of this
which it shares the theme of escape
From prehistoric times the Japanese from a sudden rain. Together with print evokes the swishing sound of
have considered unusual-shaped the view of the Kameido plum tree the net's being cast out over the Tone
River. The stubby lead weights around
objects to be set apart from the mun- (cat. 146), it was also accorded the the edge create an attractive border
dane; they were often thought to be honor of being copied by Van Gogh. to the intricate web within, a tour de
the haunts of native spirits (kami). The immediate appeal of this dra- force of carving technique. Through
This helps to explain the popularity matic composition is enhanced by the net we see a blurred continuation
of pines — symbols of longevity — as finely wrought details. The irregular of the distant shore. Hiroshige may
meisho. Hiroshige portrayed four of pattern of the black clouds above have taken this idea from Hokusai's
Edo's famous pines in this series: the reveals to a rare degree the sponta- Fuji behind a Net in One Hundred
Armor Hanging Pine at Hakkeizaka neous hand of the printer, differing Views of Mount Fuji, but the effect
(number 26), the Pine of Success at visibly from one print to another. here is more subtle, the execution more
Oumabayashi (61), the venerable The torrent of rain turns out on close delicate. An added bonus is the fabric
propped-up sole survivor of the Five inspection to be an overlay of black printing on the sail in the center.
Pines at Onagi (97), and the Rope Hang- on gray at slightly different angles,
ing Pine at Senzoku Pond (no). MT
some lines broken, others extending
the length of the composition. The
seven figures on the bridge offer a
lively diversity of ways to escape from
the rain, in ones, twos, and threes,
under hats, mats, and umbrellas, in
one direction and another.