Skip Navigation

Takata Riding Grounds, No. 115 from One Hundred Famous Views of Edo

Utagawa Hiroshige

Asian Art

This scene portrays samurai retainers practicing military skills at the Takata Riding Grounds in the hilly northwestern suburbs of Edo. It is a reminder that half of Edo's population consisted of a hereditary warrior class that, even after more than two centuries of peace, was still expected to maintain its military skills. The practice of the martial arts was on the rise at the time this print appeared, reflecting a mounting foreign crisis and a heightened governmental emphasis on education and training.

MEDIUM Woodblock print
  • Place Made: Japan
  • DATES 2nd month of 1857
    PERIOD Edo Period, Ansei Era
    DIMENSIONS sheet: 14 3/16 x 9 1/4 in. (36.0 x 23.5 cm); image: 13 3/8 x 8 3/4 in. (34.0 x 22.2 cm)  (show scale)
    MARKINGS Publisher: Shitaya Uo Ei
    SIGNATURE Hiroshige-ga
    COLLECTIONS Asian Art
    ACCESSION NUMBER 30.1478.115
    CREDIT LINE Gift of Anna Ferris
    CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION The samurai retainers practiced their military skills at the Takata Riding Grounds. In the middle distance two riders gallop past each other and at one end of the lawn, three archers take aim at a leather-faced target to the left. Hiroshige himself was of the samurai class, and his grandfather, Tanaka Koemon, had been an instructor of archery. The trees proved to be a good wind-break and local farmers set up teahouses so that the grounds became a pleasant place for outings. The entire track was about 60 yards wide and 400 yards long. After the Restoration, the land became filled with houses, as it is today. The Takata Riding Grounds gave its name to the nearby Takadanobaba Station on the Yamanote Line.
    MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view
    CAPTION Utagawa Hiroshige (Japanese, 1797-1858). Takata Riding Grounds, No. 115 from One Hundred Famous Views of Edo, 2nd month of 1857. Woodblock print, sheet: 14 3/16 x 9 1/4 in. (36.0 x 23.5 cm);. Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Anna Ferris, 30.1478.115 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 30.1478.115_PS20.jpg)
    IMAGE overall, 30.1478.115_PS20.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2023
    "CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.
    RIGHTS STATEMENT No known copyright restrictions
    This work may be in the public domain in the United States. Works created by United States and non-United States nationals published prior to 1923 are in the public domain, subject to the terms of any applicable treaty or agreement. You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this work. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). The Museum does not warrant that the use of this work will not infringe on the rights of third parties, such as artists or artists' heirs holding the rights to the work. It is your responsibility to determine and satisfy copyright or other use restrictions before copying, transmitting, or making other use of protected items beyond that allowed by "fair use," as such term is understood under the United States Copyright Act. The Brooklyn Museum makes no representations or warranties with respect to the application or terms of any international agreement governing copyright protection in the United States for works created by foreign nationals. For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
    RECORD COMPLETENESS
    Not every record you will find here is complete. More information is available for some works than for others, and some entries have been updated more recently. Records are frequently reviewed and revised, and we welcome any additional information you might have.