100 Views of Edo # 35 Deluxe Edition by Ando Hiroshige

Artist: Ando Utagawa Hiroshige (1787-1858)

Woodblock Prints Title: Suijin Shrine and Massaki on the Sumida River (Sumidagawa Suijin no mori Massaki), from the series One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (Meisho Edo hyakkei)

1st Publication: August 1856

Size: Vertical ôban; 35.8 x 23.9 cm (14 1/8 x 9 7/16 in.)

Date of this edition: August 1856, 1st Edition

Publisher: Uoya Eikichi

Condition: Trimmed to the margins, and re-margin. Yellow and red colors partially faded. Fair overall condition.

Notes: This is an extremely rare first edition, Deluxe edition with Mica in the ground floor area. Usually, this technique was reserved for good customer or prestigious people, as the technology was fairly new, expensive and difficult to master.

Very low price for this highly sought after print from this series.

More about this print: The site depicted here is said to have been the original mouth of the Sumida, Edo's most important river, and the shrine at the lower right, across the river from the Massaki area, is dedicated to the river itself.

Notwithstanding the restful beauty of the distant view, our attention is caught by the elaborate blossoms of the double-petaled cherry in the foreground. Such framing on the right, the side from which the Japanese eye tends to enter a composition, is relatively rare in this series and seems reserved for dramatic effect. It is appropriate for this type of flower, a baroque and fragrant late-blooming hybrid cherry rather out of keeping with normal Japanese taste.

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.