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Gotenyama, Shinagawa, No. 28 in One Hundred Famous Views of Edo

Utagawa Hiroshige

Asian Art

Gotenyama, or Palace Hill, was the southernmost projection of the Shinagawa heights. It overlooked the Meguro River to the south and the Tokaido highway to the east as the road passed through the narrow settlement of Shinagawa, gateway to the city of Edo. The palace for which it was named was ascribed to Ota Dokan, the fourteenth-century founder of Edo, and was the suburban retreat of the early Tokugawa shoguns. After the shogunal villa burned, Gotenyama became one of the city's most popular flower-viewing sites.

MEDIUM Woodblock print
  • Place Made: Japan
  • DATES 4th month of 1856
    PERIOD Edo Period, Ansei Era
    DIMENSIONS Image: 13 11/16 x 9 in. (34.8 x 22.9 cm) Sheet: 14 3/8 x 9 1/4 in. (36.5 x 23.5 cm)  (show scale)
    MARKINGS No publisher's seal visible, probably lost when left edge was trimmed.
    SIGNATURE Hiroshige-hitsu
    COLLECTIONS Asian Art
    ACCESSION NUMBER 30.1478.28
    CREDIT LINE Gift of Anna Ferris
    PROVENANCE Prior to 1930, provenance not yet documented; by 1930, acquired by Anna Ferris of Summit, NJ; 1930, gift of Anna Ferris to the Brooklyn Museum.
    Provenance FAQ
    CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION View of Gotenyama (Palace Hill) in Shinagawa, gateway to the city of Edo, one of the city's most popular flower-viewing sites. In "Ehon Edo Miyage" (vol. VII), Hiroshige explains that huge quantities of earth had been dug away from the hill in order to build the Odaiba, the eight small island fortresses constructed in Edo Bay off Shinagawa in 1853-1854, following the arrival of Admiral Perry's warships. One of the Odaiba was attached to the land near Gotenyama (see pls. 81, 83, and 108). This print is unique for it not only shows the beauty of the traditional Edo ranges above but the ravages of destruction below, as shown by the group of people making their way through the muddy swamp left by the construction efforts. In 1870-1871 the hill was again under construction for Japan's first railroad and its earth was moved into the sea to provide railway embankment.
    MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view
    CAPTION Utagawa Hiroshige (Japanese, 1797–1858). Gotenyama, Shinagawa, No. 28 in One Hundred Famous Views of Edo, 4th month of 1856. Woodblock print, Image: 13 11/16 x 9 in. (34.8 x 22.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Anna Ferris, 30.1478.28 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 30.1478.28_PS20.jpg)
    IMAGE overall, 30.1478.28_PS20.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2023
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