Utagawa Hiroshige

Utagawa Hiroshige (Japanese: 歌川 広重, [ɯtaɡaɰa çiɾoɕiɡe]; born Andō Hiroshige, 安藤 広重; 1797 – 12 October 1858) was a renowned Japanese ukiyo-e artist and is considered the final great master of this tradition. Distinguished by subtle coloration and evocative landscapes, his artworks have left an enduring mark, both in Japan and abroad.

Hiroshige gained his greatest acclaim with his horizontal landscape series, The Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō, as well as through his pioneering vertical series, One Hundred Famous Views of Edo. While most ukiyo-e artists chose subjects such as beautiful women, popular actors, and the lively pleasure quarters of Edo-period Japan, Hiroshige turned instead to tranquil landscapes and scenes from daily life. Drawing inspiration from Hokusai—particularly the Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji—he developed a gentler, more lyrical style, making use of nuanced color and advanced techniques like bokashi (color gradation).

The creation of Hiroshige’s prints often involved several impression layers in the same area, rendering the process especially demanding. The atmospheric quality of his landscapes distinguishes his prints from those of previous ukiyo-e artists, inviting viewers into peaceful natural settings and bustling city scenes. Through his art, Hiroshige helped to expand the scope of ukiyo-e, capturing the understated charm of daily events and the passage of the seasons.

Following Hiroshige’s death in 1858, his passing was recognized by experts and collectors as a significant moment, marking the decline of the ukiyo-e genre, particularly as the Meiji Restoration of 1868 brought widespread Western influence. During the late 19th century, Hiroshige’s prints strongly influenced Western artists, becoming a central part of the Japonism movement. Artists such as Manet, Monet, and Vincent van Gogh greatly admired and studied his work—van Gogh even reproduced two pieces from One Hundred Famous Views of Edo in oil, a testament to Hiroshige’s global influence.