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Moto-Hachiman Shrine, Sumamura, No. 29 in One Hundred Famous Views of Edo

Utagawa Hiroshige

Asian Art

In this composition delicately balancing land and water, Hiroshige has hidden from direct view the main object of attraction in the Sunamura area, the Moto-Hachiman Shrine. Only a stone torii, or gate, marking its entrance from the south and a tiny segment of a subshrine that lies behind Hiroshige's signature to the left are visible. The viewpoint is from within the shrine precincts, in front and a bit to the right of the main hall. The pine-lined road that passes by the entrance effectively captures the sense of being at the edge of the water.

MEDIUM Woodblock print
  • Place Made: Japan
  • DATES 4th month of 1856
    PERIOD Edo Period, Ansei Era
    DIMENSIONS Image: 13 3/8 x 9 in. (34 x 22.9 cm) Sheet: 14 3/16 x 9 1/4 in. (36 x 23.5 cm)  (show scale)
    MARKINGS Publisher: Shitaya Uo Ei
    SIGNATURE Hiroshige-hitsu
    COLLECTIONS Asian Art
    ACCESSION NUMBER 30.1478.29
    CREDIT LINE Gift of Anna Ferris
    CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Scene of the Sunamura area, the low, swampy delta area stretching east beyond Fukagawa and the Kiba lumberyards. The Sunamura area was reclaimed from the sea in the mid-seventeenth century and received its name from the entrepreneur who undertook the project. At the right is the stone "tori" marking the entrance to the Moto-Hachiman Shrine. The road that passes by the entrance of the shrine leads to Fukagawa to the right and on to the edge of the Nakagawa River to the left. Today this view looks out over factories, protected by dikes and floodgates in this delta area.
    MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view
    CAPTION Utagawa Hiroshige (Japanese, 1797-1858). Moto-Hachiman Shrine, Sumamura, No. 29 in One Hundred Famous Views of Edo, 4th month of 1856. Woodblock print, Image: 13 3/8 x 9 in. (34 x 22.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Anna Ferris, 30.1478.29 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 30.1478.29_PS20.jpg)
    IMAGE overall, 30.1478.29_PS20.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2023
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