100 Views of Edo # 51 Deluxe Edition by Ando Hiroshige

Artist: Ando Utagawa Hiroshige (1787-1858)

Woodblock Prints Title: 100 Views of Edo # 51 - Sannô Festival Procession at Kôjimachi l-Chôme

1st Publication: July 1856

Size: 8-3/4 x 13-1/2 + Margins as shown

Date of this edition: July 1856, 1St Edition

Publisher: Uoya Eikichi

Condition: Trimmed to the margins, and fully remargin, multiple worm holes repaired, and a few pin holes. Excellent colors, great wood grain and impression, Fair to good overall condition.

Notes: This is the very first deluxe edition of the print, with mica in the dark sky section of the print. The very stron wood grain in the water and the blue sky area is consistent with the 1st edition, and early printing.

More about this print: Hiroshige here depicts the Sannô Shrine Festival at the symbolic moment when the festival procession enters Edo Castle from the Kojimachi quarter at the very center of the city.

The entire procession, which occurred between the tenth and sixteenth days of the sixth month, consisted of more than fifty large and lavishly decorated floats, of which Hiroshige provides only a hint. The two floats here come from two of the city's oldest commoner districts.

The float in the distance represents a monkey, while the one in the foreground is an ornamental rooster perched on a large legendary Chinese "drum of admonition" that sage-kings used to summon and chastise their subjects.

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.