100 Views of Edo # 54 Deluxe 1st Edition by Ando Hiroshige

Additional Pictures:



Artist: Ando Utagawa Hiroshige (1787-1858)

Woodblock Print Title: Benkei Moat from Soto-Sakurada to Kôjimachi (Soto-Sakurada Benkeibori Kôjimachi), from the series One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (Meisho Edo hyakkei)

1st Publication: May 1856

Size: Vertical oban; 33.4 x 21.9 cm (13 1/8 x 8 5/8 in.)

Date of this edition: May 1856

Publisher: Uoya Eikichi

Condition: Color fading, thin backing on acid free paper, remnants from prior mounting.

Notes: Very rare 1st edition. Deluxe edition with Mica in the garden bank area. Usually, this technique was reserved for good customer or prestigious people, as the technology was fairly new, expensive and difficult to master.

More about this print: Description This broad, gently curving stretch of water represents a segment of the great inner moat of Edo Castle. The red-gated mansion to the upper left belonged to Ii Naosuke, one of the shogun's closest political advisers. It was along the road to the lower left that he was assassinated by a group of hotheaded young loyalist samurai as he proceeded from his mansion to Edo Castle on a snowy day in early 1860.

Pictures: Pictures are taken outdoor, in the shade, to reflect true colors, without any enhancements of any kind. The last picture is taken indoor, with a light behind the print, to reveal the exact paper grain, holes if any, or other possible flaws.