Grandpa's Teahouse, Meguro, No. 84 from One Hundred Famous Views of Edo
Utagawa Hiroshige
Asian Art
The winding path depicted here, leading down to the Meguro River, is called Teahouse Slope. According to one story, the third shogun, Iemitsu, stopped by here while hunting and was graciously served by an elderly couple at their small teahouse, thereafter known as Jijigachaya, or Grandpa's Teahouse. A separate account involves the eighth shogun, Yoshimune, and speaks of two teahouses, one named for Grandpa and the other for Grandma, with the latter located at the top of the hill. In this view, Grandpa's Teahouse is on the lower right; Grandma's Teahouse would have been out of sight above to the left.
MEDIUM
Woodblock print
DATES
4th month of 1857
PERIOD
Edo Period, Ansei Era
DIMENSIONS
Sheet: 14 3/16 x 9 1/4 in. (36 x 23.5 cm)
Image: 13 3/8 x 8 3/4 in. (34 x 22.2 cm) (show scale)
MARKINGS
No publisher's seal visible, probably lost when left margin was trimmed. Date seal and censor seal at top margin.
SIGNATURE
Hiroshige-ga
COLLECTIONS
Asian Art
ACCESSION NUMBER
30.1478.84
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 the bluff overlooking the Meguro River and Mt. Fuji, halfway between Chiyogaike Pond (seen in print 23 of the series) and the New Fuji (print 24). The path leading down to the river is known today as Chayazaka, Teahouse Slope, and has since been paved. A similar view appears in Hiroshige's "Ehon Edo Miyage" vol. VII, where it is recorded that the third shogun, Iemitsu, was graciously served here by an elderly couple at their small teahouse, which was known thereafter as "Jijigachaya" or Grandpa's Teahouse. There is another version of the story involving the eighth shogun, Yoshimune, as related by Murao Karyo, who visited the location in 1811. In any event, the present plaque erected by Meguro Ward credits both shoguns with visiting the teahouse. Interestingly, Karyo's version tells of two teahouses: one for Grandma and one for Grandpa, with the former located at the top of the hill. A landscape painting of the two teahouses was done by Shiba Kokan, as a preliminary sketch for a copperplate print he made in 1784. It is thought that the Brooklyn Museum's print 84 is a later impression than that of the Hirose collection in the "Ukiyoe Taikei," in which the area below the Tanzawa Range is printed in red, with a gradation into the sky at left. Here, a separate block was cut to print the red bands that appear above the horizon, and the bokashi gradations on the peaks and at the base of Mount Fuji have been eliminated.
EXHIBITIONS
MUSEUM LOCATION
This item is not on view
CAPTION
Utagawa Hiroshige (Japanese, 1797–1858). Grandpa's Teahouse, Meguro, No. 84 from One Hundred Famous Views of Edo, 4th month of 1857. Woodblock print, Sheet: 14 3/16 x 9 1/4 in. (36 x 23.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Anna Ferris, 30.1478.84 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 30.1478.84_PS20.jpg)
IMAGE
overall, 30.1478.84_PS20.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2023
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RIGHTS STATEMENT
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