100 Views of Edo # 23 by Ando Hiroshige

Artist: Ando Utagawa Hiroshige (1787-1858)

Woodblock Prints Title: 100 Views of Edo #23: Chiyogaike Pond, Meguro

1st Publication: July 1856

Size: 8-5/8 x 13-1/2 + margins as shown

Date of this edition: 1856

Publisher: Uoya Eikichi

Carver: Hori-Sen

Condition: A couple of tape on the back from prior mounting, a clear spot, and a repaired corner in the upper left margin. Else, in excellent condition, with great colors.

Notes: This print is one of the popular print in the 100 views of Edo series, and highly sought among collectors. Great print, in excellent condition.

More about this print: Chiyogaike Pond, located on a bluff overlooking the valley of the Meguro River in suburban Edo, was named after a medieval warrior's wife who drowned herself in the pond on hearing of her husband's death in battle.

The depiction of reflections in the pond—the cherry trees to the left mirrored in the water in a faint haze of pink—is unusual for Hiroshige.

Water reflections were already an artistic convention in Japan in the late seventeenth century, and ensuing Western influences in the eighteenth century made such pictorial effects, together with the comparable use of shadows, familiar to ukiyo-e artists. Still, they used the technique sparingly.

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.