Ukiyoe
The fourth
story
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| This time, we introduce
"Jumantsubo at Suzaki,
Fukagawa of One Hundred Celebrated Places
of Edo" which is the representative
work of Hiroshige
Utagawa who was a landscape painter. |
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The ukiyoe introduced this
time is the "Jumantsubo at Suzaki, Fukagawa
of One Hundred Celebrated Places of Edo" by
Hiroshige Utagawa who was a landscape painter.
The "One Hundred Celebrated Places of Edo" are
Hiroshige's works painted in his later years,
and he left many masterpieces.
Although Hiroshige's debut as an ukiyoe painter
was portraits of actors, he concentrated on
the landscapes after becoming famous. The "Fifty-Three
Stations of the Tokaido" are also well known
in Japan and said as his masterpiece. He had
an opportunity to travel from Edo (present Tokyo)
to Kyoto at one time. The scenery for every
post station (53 places) on the trip was drawn
and the sceneries of nostalgic Japan of those
days (the end of Edo) are seen. It is one of
the features that these works have not only
scenery itself but close feeling created by
people matching scenery.
The "Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido" became
a rare hit in the history of ukiyoe. For this
background, what the popular travel boom supported
these works at this time might be considered.
I think that Hiroshige's landscapes painted
various places in Japan coincided with the timing
when people who had never come out from their
town till then began to turn their eyes to the
place which they did not know. In addition to
this series, he completed the post station series,
"Sixty-Nine Stages of the Kisokaido" etc., and
these works still remain as representative masterpieces.
Hiroshige painted many famous places in Edo
by the ukiyoe. The "One Hundred Celebrated Places
of Edo" series of this time is expressing his
affection on land and people much more closely,
and it is clear that support and sympathy of
Edo's people gathered for these pictures. And
here the "Jumantsubo at Suzaki, Fukagawa" which
is a masterpiece in this "One Hundred Celebrated
Places of Edo" series and it is drawn by the
touch surprising at the moment of a look. In
front, Edo bay and the swamp in Fukagawa spread,
in the distance, Mt. Tsukuba covered with snow
can be seen, and it is a bold composition of
a big diving eagle extending feathers in the
sky of winter.
It is said that the four seasons of Japan was
symbolically expressed with "snow, the moon,
and the flower". Hiroshige Utagawa is the man
who drew these subjects skillfully. It is transmitted
from his works that he devoted his half a lifetime
to having a dialog with nature and expressing
it. This "Jumantsubo at Suzaki, Fukagawa" is
one of the works painted "snow", and is one
of the most popular ukiyoe also in Japan now.
We focused on Japanese pictures "ukiyoe" and
introduced them over one year, how was it? I
hope you can feel the traditional culture of
old good Japan as familiar as possible. We are
pleased if there is an opportunity for you to
see ukiyoe, and you remember Japanese traditional
arts.
Ref. "Attraction of Ukiyoe" by Tadashi Kobayashi. |
Vol.35
