After No. 46 "A Sudden Shower at Shono" from the series Fifty-Three stations of the Tokaido
Fine Arts The Japanese Prints: Ancient and ModernItem Info
Source: Print and Picture Collection
Notes:
"Along with 'Kambara', this print must be counted a true masterpiece. Shono, which was less than two miles from Ishiyakushi, has no scenery resembling that shown here, and it appears that the design was purely imaginary."
"Hiroshige often depicted rain with distinct slanted lines - a device much admired in Europe - but in this print he made the water come down in sheets."
from "The Fifty-Three Stages of the Tokaido by Hiroshige", Tokyo, Japan. Heibonsha Ltd., Publishers, 1960. plate 46
https://catalog.freelibrary.org/Record/125651
Notes:
"In the early 1830's, Hiroshige's first landscape prints appeared. He subsequently became the leading landscape artist and was especially known for his series on the Tokaido highway that connected Edo (present day Tokyo) with Kyoto. The earliest and most famous of these, generally known by the name of the publisher as 'Hoeido ban Tokaido' (Tokaido published by Hoeido), was issued from 1832-33. Hiroshige III stated sixty years later that Hiroshige's designs are after sketches he took during a journey to Kyoto, however, most of his designs are undoubtedly inspired from illustrations in guide books like the Tokaido meisho zue ('Gathering of Views of Famouse Sightss alonf the Tokaido;' 1797) and even this alleged journey cannot be verified."
from "Japanese Woodblock Prints: Artists, Publishers and Masterworks 1680-1900", Andreas Marks. Tuttle Publishing. p.132
Notes:
note card with print
Station 46
Shono: A Shower. One of Hiroshige's masterpieces, this print depicts palanquin-bearers and villagers scurrying through a rainstorm. The bamboo grove bowing under the torrent, the scuttling men, and the depiction of the rain itself are all wonderfully expressive of the great force of nature. Shono is about a two and one-half mile walk, through a mountain path along the Suzuka River, from the Preceding station. A famous hero of legendary times - Yamato Takeru no Mikoto - is said to have turned into a white swan here.
Bibliography:
https://catalog.freelibrary.org/Record/125651
https://catalog.freelibrary.org/Record/370941
https://catalog.freelibrary.org/Record/703108
https://catalog.freelibrary.org/Record/2030739
https://www.hiroshige.org.uk/Tokaido_Series/Tokaido_Great.htm
Creation Year: ca. 1844
Image Dimensions Width: 21.4 cm
Call Number: Woodblock Prints - The Fifty-three Stations of the T?kaid? Road
Creator Name: Hiroshige, Utagawa, 1797-1858 - Artist