100 Views of Edo # 100 Deluxe Edition by Ando Hiroshige

Artist: Ando Utagawa Hiroshige (1787-1858)

Woodblock Prints Title: 100 Views of Edo # 100 Nihon Embankment, Yoshiwara

1st Publication: April 1857

Size: 13-1/4 x 8-5/8 + Margins as shown

Date of this edition: April 1857

Publisher: Uoya Eikichi

Carver: Hori-Sen

Condition: Partially trimmed on the left margin, affecting the publisher seal, lower margin redone. Some remnant of prior mounting on the back of the upper corners. A tiny clear spot on the upper left margin. Excellent colors and impression, good to very good overall condition.

Notes: Original 1st edition by Uoya in 1857. This is one of the extremely rare deluxe edition, with mica in the sky and in the ground, although most of it has fadded. 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: Set off as a separate world by the line of rose-tinged clouds are the distant roofs of the Yoshiwara pleasure quarters, the destination of most of those traveling below on the Nihon Embankment.

Along the eight hundred yard stretch of the embankment were more than a hundred teahouses, each associated with a particular Yoshiwara brothel. Most visitors to Yoshiwara would stop at one of these teahouses for rest or entertainment before proceeding on to the pleasure quarters.

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.