Collections: Asian Art: View From Massaki of Suijin Shrine, Uchigawa Inlet, and Sekiya, No. 36 in One Hundred Famous Views of Edo

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View From Massaki of Suijin Shrine, Uchigawa Inlet, and Sekiya, No. 36 in One Hundred Famous Views of Edo

In the series One Hundred Famous Views of Edo, Hiroshige embarked on a novel approach to his landscapes, offering unusual viewpoints and extensive use of cropping. By placing large figures and objects in the immediate foreground of the composition, he achieved an illusion of vast pictorial depth for the landscape beyond. Published between 1856 and 1859 (the year after his death), this was Hiroshige’s last major series and includes some of his most recognizable designs. This composition provides a view framed by the second-floor window of a teahouse on a spring evening.


• Artist: Utagawa Hiroshige (Ando), Japanese, 1797-1858
• Medium: Woodblock print
• Place Made: Japan
• Dates: 8th month of 1857
• Period: Edo Period, Ansei Era
• Dimensions: 14 1/4 x 9 1/4 in. (36.2 x 23.5 cm)
• Markings: Signature in red cartouche, lower left. Date and censor seals, upper right.
• Signature: Hiroshige-ga
• Collections: Asian Art
• Museum Location: This item is not on view
• Accession Number: 30.1478.36
• Credit Line: Gift of Anna Ferris
• Image: Overall, 30.1478.36_PS1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2006
Utagawa Hiroshige (Ando) (Japanese, 1797-1858). View From Massaki of Suijin Shrine, Uchigawa Inlet, and Sekiya, No. 36 in One Hundred Famous Views of Edo, 8th month of 1857. Woodblock print, 14 1/4 x 9 1/4 in. (36.2 x 23.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Anna Ferris, 30.1478.36 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 30.1478.36_PS1.jpg)
• Catalogue Description: This scene in early spring looks out from the round window on the Sumida River from the second floor of a teahouse in front of the Massaki Inari Shrine. This restaurant may well be the "Kinoeneya," most famous for its "dengaku," small squares of skewered tofu, brushed with a sweet miso sauce and grilled over charcoal. The Uchigawa Inlet extends in the distance to the right. The area on the far side, below Mount Tsukuba, is the Sekiya no Sato, a name given for the countryside here. The popularity of Massaki Inari and that of the "dengaku" restaurants, within this area, began in 1757 and was still strong in Hiroshige's time.