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HIROSHIGE
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| HIROSHIGE,
posthumous portrait by KUNISADA |
Artist – Utagawa
HIROSHIGE (歌川 広重), also in Western publications also cited as
"Andō HIROSHIGE" (安藤 広重), 1797 - 1858 was a Japanese ukiyo-e
artist, considered the last great master of that tradition.
Not long after his parents' deaths, perhaps at around fourteen, young HIROSHIGE began painting. He sought the tutelage of TOYOKUNI of the UTAGAWA school, but TOYOKUNI had too many pupils to make room for him. A librarian introduced him instead to TOYOHIRO of the same school. By 1812 HIROSHIGE was permitted to sign his works, which he did under the art name HIROSHIGE. He also studied the techniques of the well-established Kanō school, the "nan ga" whose tradition began with the Chinese Southern School, and the realistic Shijō school, and likely the perspective techniques of Western art and ukiyo-e.
HIROSHIGES's apprentice work included book illustrations and single-sheet ukiyo-e prints of female beauties and kabuki actors in the UTAGAWA style, sometimes signing them ICHIYūSai or, from 1832, ICHIRYūSAI. He declined an offer to succeed TOYOHIRO upon the master's death in 1828.
The subjects of his work were atypical of the ukiyo-e genre, whose typical focus was on beautiful women, popular actors, and other scenes of the urban pleasure districts of Japan's Edo period (1603–1868). The popular Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji series by HOKUSAI was a strong influence on HIROSHIGE's choice of subject, though HIROSHIGE's approach was more poetic and ambient than HOKUSAI's bolder, more formal prints.
In 1830 on, HIROSHIGE started a new genre of landscape prints. One of his great masterpieces is the series "The Fifty-Three Stations of the Tōkaidō" ("東海道五十三次" / Tōkaidō Gojūsan-tsugi), cited as the "Hōeidō edition" (1833–1834) created from 1833 to 1834 with 55 prints in "oban" or "portrait" format. The series was very successful and has been several times re-cut and re-printed. There are other versions in the "landscape" format. Alltogehter, including the posthumous versions with the original cuts , there are 19 editions of the "Tokaido".
The "Tokaido" was a coastal highway connecting the Edo, the capital of the Shogun, with Kyoto, the residence of the emperor. The stations must be imagined as a kind of turn-pikes where tolls had to be paid. The stations had lodges and simple restaurants where travelers could spend the night and get a meal. The "Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido" became the basis of HIROSHIGE's fame and commercial success. For the next twenty years he concentrated his efforts on landscape prints.
Ukiyo-e publishing in the last century was not a cultural institution subsidized by public funds, but rather a commercial business like book publishing or a movie production in our time. And when a film turns out to become a big success, the public is asking for more, and the producer is only too happy to prepare the next follow-up. Print publishing in the Edo period was not different. Thus HIROSHIGE produced more series of the Tokaido.
For scholars and collectors, HIROSHIGE's death marked the beginning of a rapid decline in the ukiyo-e genre, especially in the face of the westernization that followed the Meiji Restoration of 1868. HIROSHIGE's work came to have a marked influence on Western painting towards the close of the 19th century as a part of the trend in Japonism. Western artists closely studied Hiroshige's compositions. In particular with regard to HIROSHIGE’s "The Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō" (1833–1834) and "One Hundred Famous Views of Edo" (1856–1858), French Impressionists such as Monet and others were greatly influenced. Vincent Van Gogh copied two of the One Hundred Famous Views of Edo which were among his collection of ukiyo-e prints. HIROSHIGE's style also influenced the "Mir Iskusstva", a 20th-century Russian art movement in which Ivan Bilibin was a major artist.
In his declining years, HIROSHIGE still produced thousands of prints to meet the demand for his works, but few were as good as those of his early and middle periods. He never lived in financial comfort, even in old age. In no small part, his prolific output stemmed from the fact that he was poorly paid per series, although he was still capable of remarkable art when the conditions were right — his great One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (名所江戸百景 Meisho Edo Hyakkei) was paid for up-front by a wealthy Buddhist priest in love with the daughter of the publisher, Uoya Eikichi (a former fishmonger).
Personal life - HIROSHIGE was born in 1797 in the Yayosu Quay section of the Yaesu area in Edo (modern Tokyo) as Tokutarō JūEMON (徳太郎 重右衛門), sometimes falsley attributed to Andō Tokutarō (安藤 徳太郎). He was of a samurai background, and was the great-grandson of TANAKA Tokuemon, who held a position of power under the Tsugaru clan in the northern province of Mutsu. HIROSHIGES's grandfather, Mitsuemon, was an archery instructor who worked under the name Sairyūken. HIROSHIGES's father, Gen'emon, was adopted into the family of Andō JūEMON, whom he succeeded as fire warden for the Yayosu Quay area, also responsible as fire warden for Edo castle.
HIROSHIGE went through several name changes as a youth: Tokutarō JūEMON(徳太郎 重右衛門), Tokubē (徳兵衛), and Tetsuzō (徹三, also his brothers name). If correctly cited he should be correctly named as "Utagawa HIROSHIGE" (歌川 広重), with "Utagawa" ("歌川") as the artist's first name, designating him as genuine member of the "Utagawa school" tradition. He had three sisters, one of whom died when he was three years old. HIROSHIGE lived in the firefighters barracks until the age of 43. His father "Gen'emon" and his mother both died in 1809, when HIROSHIGE was 12 years old. His father handed his fire warden duties to his twelve-year-old son. He was charged with prevention of fires at Edo Castle, a duty that left him much leisure time. Although his duties as a fire-fighter were light, he never shirked these responsibilities, even after he entered training in UTAGAWA TOYOHIRO's studio. In 1823, he resigned his post as fire warden, though he still acted as an alternate. In 1823 he transferred his firefighter position over to his brother "Tetsuzo", who in turn passed on the duty to HIROSHIGE's son of his first marriage in 1832.
HIROSHIGE's first wife (name not to be handed down) helped finance his trips to sketch travel locations, in one instance selling some of her clothing and ornamental combs. She died in October 1838, and Hiroshige remarried to "Oyasu", sixteen years his junior, daughter of a farmer named Kaemon from Tōtōmi Province.
In 1856, HIROSHIGE "retired from the world," becoming a Buddhist monk; this was the year he began his "One Hundred Famous Views of Edo". He died aged 62 during the great Edo cholera epidemic of 1858 (whether the epidemic killed him is unknown) and was buried in a Zen Buddhist temple in Asakusa. Just before his death, he left a poem:
"I leave my brush in the East
And set forth on my journey.
I shall see the famous places in the Western Land."
(The "Western Land" in this context refers to the strip of land by the Tōkaidō between Kyoto and Edo, but it does double duty as a reference to the Paradise of Buddha Amithaba).
Aliases - Jūemon (重右衛門), Tokubē (徳兵衛), and Tetsuzō (徹三). His art names include HIROSHIGE ("Utagawa HIROSHIGE"), ICHIYūSAI (一勇斎) or, from 1832, ICHIRYRYūSAI (一立斎), and Ryūsai (立斎) from 1842 bis 1858. In 1847, when becoming a novice, he changed
personal name to Tokubei.
Most works have been signed as "HIROSHIGE ga" ("広重画") or "HIROSHIGE hitsu" ("広重 筆"). Some manga books have been signed with "Utashige" (歌重) from 1830-44.
In Western publications, HIROSHIGE is often cited as "Ando HIROSHIGE" with "Ando" being the surname of his father, a name desriptor he never used.
Not long after his parents' deaths, perhaps at around fourteen, young HIROSHIGE began painting. He sought the tutelage of TOYOKUNI of the UTAGAWA school, but TOYOKUNI had too many pupils to make room for him. A librarian introduced him instead to TOYOHIRO of the same school. By 1812 HIROSHIGE was permitted to sign his works, which he did under the art name HIROSHIGE. He also studied the techniques of the well-established Kanō school, the "nan ga" whose tradition began with the Chinese Southern School, and the realistic Shijō school, and likely the perspective techniques of Western art and ukiyo-e.
HIROSHIGES's apprentice work included book illustrations and single-sheet ukiyo-e prints of female beauties and kabuki actors in the UTAGAWA style, sometimes signing them ICHIYūSai or, from 1832, ICHIRYūSAI. He declined an offer to succeed TOYOHIRO upon the master's death in 1828.
The subjects of his work were atypical of the ukiyo-e genre, whose typical focus was on beautiful women, popular actors, and other scenes of the urban pleasure districts of Japan's Edo period (1603–1868). The popular Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji series by HOKUSAI was a strong influence on HIROSHIGE's choice of subject, though HIROSHIGE's approach was more poetic and ambient than HOKUSAI's bolder, more formal prints.
In 1830 on, HIROSHIGE started a new genre of landscape prints. One of his great masterpieces is the series "The Fifty-Three Stations of the Tōkaidō" ("東海道五十三次" / Tōkaidō Gojūsan-tsugi), cited as the "Hōeidō edition" (1833–1834) created from 1833 to 1834 with 55 prints in "oban" or "portrait" format. The series was very successful and has been several times re-cut and re-printed. There are other versions in the "landscape" format. Alltogehter, including the posthumous versions with the original cuts , there are 19 editions of the "Tokaido".
The "Tokaido" was a coastal highway connecting the Edo, the capital of the Shogun, with Kyoto, the residence of the emperor. The stations must be imagined as a kind of turn-pikes where tolls had to be paid. The stations had lodges and simple restaurants where travelers could spend the night and get a meal. The "Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido" became the basis of HIROSHIGE's fame and commercial success. For the next twenty years he concentrated his efforts on landscape prints.
Ukiyo-e publishing in the last century was not a cultural institution subsidized by public funds, but rather a commercial business like book publishing or a movie production in our time. And when a film turns out to become a big success, the public is asking for more, and the producer is only too happy to prepare the next follow-up. Print publishing in the Edo period was not different. Thus HIROSHIGE produced more series of the Tokaido.
For scholars and collectors, HIROSHIGE's death marked the beginning of a rapid decline in the ukiyo-e genre, especially in the face of the westernization that followed the Meiji Restoration of 1868. HIROSHIGE's work came to have a marked influence on Western painting towards the close of the 19th century as a part of the trend in Japonism. Western artists closely studied Hiroshige's compositions. In particular with regard to HIROSHIGE’s "The Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō" (1833–1834) and "One Hundred Famous Views of Edo" (1856–1858), French Impressionists such as Monet and others were greatly influenced. Vincent Van Gogh copied two of the One Hundred Famous Views of Edo which were among his collection of ukiyo-e prints. HIROSHIGE's style also influenced the "Mir Iskusstva", a 20th-century Russian art movement in which Ivan Bilibin was a major artist.
In his declining years, HIROSHIGE still produced thousands of prints to meet the demand for his works, but few were as good as those of his early and middle periods. He never lived in financial comfort, even in old age. In no small part, his prolific output stemmed from the fact that he was poorly paid per series, although he was still capable of remarkable art when the conditions were right — his great One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (名所江戸百景 Meisho Edo Hyakkei) was paid for up-front by a wealthy Buddhist priest in love with the daughter of the publisher, Uoya Eikichi (a former fishmonger).
Personal life - HIROSHIGE was born in 1797 in the Yayosu Quay section of the Yaesu area in Edo (modern Tokyo) as Tokutarō JūEMON (徳太郎 重右衛門), sometimes falsley attributed to Andō Tokutarō (安藤 徳太郎). He was of a samurai background, and was the great-grandson of TANAKA Tokuemon, who held a position of power under the Tsugaru clan in the northern province of Mutsu. HIROSHIGES's grandfather, Mitsuemon, was an archery instructor who worked under the name Sairyūken. HIROSHIGES's father, Gen'emon, was adopted into the family of Andō JūEMON, whom he succeeded as fire warden for the Yayosu Quay area, also responsible as fire warden for Edo castle.
HIROSHIGE went through several name changes as a youth: Tokutarō JūEMON(徳太郎 重右衛門), Tokubē (徳兵衛), and Tetsuzō (徹三, also his brothers name). If correctly cited he should be correctly named as "Utagawa HIROSHIGE" (歌川 広重), with "Utagawa" ("歌川") as the artist's first name, designating him as genuine member of the "Utagawa school" tradition. He had three sisters, one of whom died when he was three years old. HIROSHIGE lived in the firefighters barracks until the age of 43. His father "Gen'emon" and his mother both died in 1809, when HIROSHIGE was 12 years old. His father handed his fire warden duties to his twelve-year-old son. He was charged with prevention of fires at Edo Castle, a duty that left him much leisure time. Although his duties as a fire-fighter were light, he never shirked these responsibilities, even after he entered training in UTAGAWA TOYOHIRO's studio. In 1823, he resigned his post as fire warden, though he still acted as an alternate. In 1823 he transferred his firefighter position over to his brother "Tetsuzo", who in turn passed on the duty to HIROSHIGE's son of his first marriage in 1832.
HIROSHIGE's first wife (name not to be handed down) helped finance his trips to sketch travel locations, in one instance selling some of her clothing and ornamental combs. She died in October 1838, and Hiroshige remarried to "Oyasu", sixteen years his junior, daughter of a farmer named Kaemon from Tōtōmi Province.
In 1856, HIROSHIGE "retired from the world," becoming a Buddhist monk; this was the year he began his "One Hundred Famous Views of Edo". He died aged 62 during the great Edo cholera epidemic of 1858 (whether the epidemic killed him is unknown) and was buried in a Zen Buddhist temple in Asakusa. Just before his death, he left a poem:
"I leave my brush in the East
And set forth on my journey.
I shall see the famous places in the Western Land."
(The "Western Land" in this context refers to the strip of land by the Tōkaidō between Kyoto and Edo, but it does double duty as a reference to the Paradise of Buddha Amithaba).
Aliases - Jūemon (重右衛門), Tokubē (徳兵衛), and Tetsuzō (徹三). His art names include HIROSHIGE ("Utagawa HIROSHIGE"), ICHIYūSAI (一勇斎) or, from 1832, ICHIRYRYūSAI (一立斎), and Ryūsai (立斎) from 1842 bis 1858. In 1847, when becoming a novice, he changed
personal name to Tokubei.
Most works have been signed as "HIROSHIGE ga" ("広重画") or "HIROSHIGE hitsu" ("広重 筆"). Some manga books have been signed with "Utashige" (歌重) from 1830-44.
In Western publications, HIROSHIGE is often cited as "Ando HIROSHIGE" with "Ando" being the surname of his father, a name desriptor he never used.
Disciples - Chinpei Suzuki,
nowaday known as "Hiroshige II" (二代 広重)
was a young print artist, who married Hiroshige's daughter,
Otatsu (sometimes referred as step daughter). He was given
the artist name of "SHIGENOBU" ("重宣"). Hiroshige intended to
make SHIGENOBU his heir in all matters, and SHIGENOBU
adopted the name "HIROSHIGE" after his master's death in
1858, and thus today is known as "HIROSHIGE II". However,
the marriage to Otatsu was troubled and in 1865 they
separated.
"HIROSHIGE II" once
again used his former artist's name SHIGENOBU ("重宣"), sometime also as Risshō (立祥). Otatsu
was remarried to SHIGEMASA (重政), another former pupil of
HIROSHIGE.
SHIGEMASA appropriated the name of the lineage and today is
known as "HIROSHIGE III". Both "HIROSHIGE
II" and "HIROSHIGE III" worked
in a distinctive style based on that of HIROSHIGE,
but neither achieved the level of success and recognition
accorded to their master.
Other students of HIROSHIGE include Utagawa SHIGEMARU, Utagawa SHIGEKIYO, and Utagawa HIROKAGE. Sometimes also cited disciples are referred as Nakayama Sugakudō (between 1850-1860), Shigemasa, Shigemaru, Shigefusa, Shigehisa, Shigeyoshi, Shigehana, Shigetoshi and Shikō.
Copyright 2008 ff: Hans P. Boehme