How did the rain depiction in Utagawa Hiroshige’s ukiyo-e prints reflect the rapid urbanization and changing sense of place in Edo (present-day Tokyo) during the Edo period?
The Edo period was an important era in Japanese history that took place from 1603 up until 1868. This period allowed Japan to strengthen its cultural identity, with contributing factors such as mobilization and domestic tourism after centuries of travel bans, as well as economic growth and stability. With peace and structure, urban culture added vibrancy to the Japanese lifestyle and encouraged the development of art forms such as haiku poetry, ink calligraphy, and ukiyo-e prints.
Ukiyo-e translates to “pictures of the floating world.” This genre of Japanese art flourished during the Edo period. Typically, this style depicts scenes from everyday life, including landscapes, historical tales, performances, and people. Characterized by bold lines, vibrant colors, and intricate details, artists like Hiroshige are renowned for their contributions to the Ukiyo-e genre.
Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858) is regarded as the final great master of traditional Japanese woodblock printing. Hiroshige’s woodblock prints immortalized the everyday lives of people during the late Edo period when travel and entertainment became increasingly accessible to the middle class. His artistic style imbued depictions of Japan’s natural landscapes, of which many focused on the rainy weather that was experienced frequently by the Japanese people.
The following prints will be dedicated to showcasing Hiroshige’s Japanese rainy landscapes during the Edo period. The collection of these woodblock prints that will be included in this post were found on the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s website.
Japanese, Utagawa Hiroshige. “Utagawa Hiroshige: Evening Rain in Azuma Wood: Japan: Edo Period (1615–1868).” The Metropolitan Museum of Art, www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/57065. Accessed 10 May 2024.
In Evening Rain in Azuma Wood, Hiroshige captures the tranquil beauty of a rainy evening in Azuma Wood, located on the outskirts of Edo (present-day Tokyo). The scene depicts a winding path leading into a lush wooded area with tall trees. The print predominantly features a subdued color palette that reflects the tranquil mood of the rainy evening scene. Harmony and serenity are created through the monochromatic tones, which create a bold juxtaposition against the vibrant blue waters. Hiroshige’s depiction of rain in this work appears heavy and consuming without being long and streaky.
Japanese, Utagawa Hiroshige. “Utagawa Hiroshige: White Rain at Shōno: Japan: Edo Period (1615–1868).” The Metropolitan Museum of Art, www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/57043. Accessed 10 May 2024.
White Rain at Shōno captures a frantic yet ethereal scene of rain falling over the landscape of Shōno, a rural area in present-day Kanagawa, Japan. Hiroshige employs a unique and striking color scheme to convey the atmospheric effects of the rain. As suggested by the title, “White Rain,” Hiroshige uses white pigment to represent the falling raindrops. These white streaks cascade diagonally across the composition, creating a dynamic sense of movement and rhythm. The people depicted in the print appear distressed and possibly unprepared for the sudden rain, using blankets to cover their heads. The lack of clothing and the figures’ horizontal angle emphasizes the situation’s urgency. By reserving color for just the man-made objects in the image, the viewer’s attention is drawn away from the natural elements, making the people feel like the focus of the image. Lacking the traditional Hiroshige composition that often includes large bodies of water and boats, this print uniquely emphasizes the lack of urbanization in these early years.
Japanese, Utagawa Hiroshige. “Utagawa Hiroshige: Tiger Rain at Ōiso Station: Japan: Edo Period (1615–1868).” The Metropolitan Museum of Art, www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/36930. Accessed 10 May 2024.
Tiger Rain at Ōiso Station uses a similar color pallet to Evening Rain in Azuma Wood. Hiroshige’s use of soft greys and black helps convey a rainy evening in a small town. Dark streaks of rain race across the white sky on the upper half of the print, indicating hard, heavy precipitation. Urbanization is becoming increasingly present, indicating the advancement of societies in the Edo period. The figures in Ōiso Station appear more relaxed and less frantic than in other works by Hiroshige, further emphasizing the possible advancement of civilization. Hiroshige again reserved his use of color for the people and the man-made objects in the print. However, as in many of his traditional works, the large body of water is given a blue hue, deepening in color as the water appears closer.
Japanese, Utagawa Hiroshige II. “Utagawa Hiroshige II: Paulownia Trees at Akasaka in the Evening Rain: Japan: Edo Period (1615–1868).” The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1 Jan. 1970, www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/36708.
In Paulownia Trees at Akasaka in the Evening Rain, Hiroshige skillfully depicts a tranquil scene of evening rain in the Akasaka district of Edo (modern-day Tokyo) while simultaneously illustrating a harsh and heavy rainstorm. The evening sky and the misty rain clouds are rendered in gentle shades of blue and gray, creating a serene and atmospheric backdrop for the scene. The colors in this print are much more vibrant than the colors in Tiger Rain at Ōiso Station. The Paulownia trees, a focal point of the composition, are depicted in various shades of lush green, from deep emerald to lighter hues. Hiroshige depicts the people in this image in a more relaxed way. They continue with their daily life despite the rain. The rain is long, dark, and falling vertically rather than at an angle, typical of Hiroshige’s rain prints.
Japanese, Utagawa Hiroshige. “Utagawa Hiroshige: Tea-Houses on the Bank of the Tadasu River in a Shower: Japan: Edo Period (1615–1868).” The Metropolitan Museum of Art, www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/56517. Accessed 10 May 2024.
We see Hiroshige synthesizing two major aspects of his artistic evolution in later life. On one hand, the tea houses and human figures reveal his continued interest in depicting facets of the urbanizing Japanese environment and daily life during the Edo period. This is what we discovered in our initial presentation. However, the true focus is the enveloping summer downpour depicted in vivid Prussian blues and animated brushstrokes. The rain cascades down in torrents, creating a sense of movement and energy that envelops the scene. This exemplifies Hiroshige’s shift in the 1840s towards a more naturalistic, expressive style centered on capturing the sublime power of nature’s forces like rain, wind, and seasonal changes. By blending traditional architectural elements with his innovative techniques for illustrating rain-soaked landscapes, Hiroshige bridges the human and natural realms.
Japanese, Utagawa Hiroshige. “Utagawa Hiroshige: Spring Rain at Tsuchiyama, from the Series Fifty-Three Stations of the Tōkaidō: Japan: Edo Period (1615–1868).” The Metropolitan Museum of Art, www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/36971?who=Utagawa%2C%2BHiroshige%24Utagawa%2BHiroshige&ao=on&ft=%2A&offset=0&rpp=20&pos=4. Accessed 10 May 2024.
In “Spring Rain at Tsuchiyama,” urgency transcends through this print more than most. The rain appears aggressively streaky, printed with very dark ink. The subjects enter the scene from the bottom right into the left, in a diagonal and perpendicularly from the water, adding a dramatic layer to the print. Their crossing the bridge over rapid waters shows how man-made developments help reduce humans’ fighting with nature’s intensity. The subjects are depicted wearing straw hats and colorful raincoats, resembling travelers on a journey. Although they seem prepared and protected from the rain, nature represents strength and superiority. The presence of the turbulent stream in the background with the bridge in the foreground informs spectators that new ways of crossing large bodies of water have been created and more is to come to improve efficiency in Japanese’ everyday lives.
Japanese, Utagawa Hiroshige. “Utagawa Hiroshige: Sudden Shower over Shin-Ōhashi Bridge and Atake (Ōhashi Atake No Yūdachi), from the Series One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (Meisho Edo Hyakkei): Japan: Edo Period (1615–1868).” The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1 Jan. 1970, www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/37386?who=Utagawa%2C%2BHiroshige%24Utagawa%2BHiroshige&ao=on&ft=%2A&offset=0&rpp=20&pos=10.
In “Sudden Shower over Shin-Ōhashi Bridge and Atake”, the colors are mainly reserved for the foreground which includes the people crossing the bridge in the pouring rain, as well as the water and bridge. While the colors of the subjects’ clothing demonstrate popular wardrobe choices of the time, the color of the blue water deepens its hue to show depth in surface. Additionally, the bridge is printed in brown to replicate wooden structuring. Seeing that most of the subjects of the print are bare-legged, hints at the humid weather during a rainy day in Japan. The subjects are also depicted either wearing sunhats or umbrellas to use as protection, adding a layer to suggest warm rain. The bridge in the foreground nods at newly-developed urbanization and transportation – typical of Hiroshige’s landscape works during the Edo period. In other words, the foreground represents a new age and subtly nods at the novel Japanese urban lifestyle. The only visible person in the background – most likely a fisherman – seems to navigate themselves across the waterways through the Tobo method, a form of transportation in which a person stands on a wooden raft and uses a pole or paddle to push themselves against the water current. This method is viewed to be highly impressive, as it requires great bodily skill to perform effectively, especially in turbulent times which can be seen in this particular print from the broad, long and aggressive rain strokes all the way through the vertical scale. The raft seems to be made of bamboo, which is common, as it was printed as separate cylinder shapes stuck together into a long raft surface.
Japanese, Utagawa Hiroshige. “Utagawa Hiroshige: Sunshower at Nihonbashi: Japan: Edo Period (1615–1868).” The Metropolitan Museum of Art, www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/36977. Accessed 10 May 2024.
In “Sunshower at Nihonbashi,” Mount Fuji is seen in the background. Although the rain streaks are printed in very dark and bold black lines, they are dispersed enough, implying that it is only mild and tolerable rain. The nature in the background is gray, while color is found in the red bridge and the yellow umbrellas, as well as the brightly-colored subjects crossing that very bridge. The boats printed in the background are also in color – suggesting a new boat structure, separate from the Tobo bamboo rafts.
Japanese, Utagawa Hiroshige. “Utagawa Hiroshige: Futagawa: Japan: Edo Period (1615–1868).” The Metropolitan Museum of Art, www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/55159. Accessed 10 May 2024.
This landscape print is part of Hiroshige’s famous “Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido Road” series, depicting scenes along the major highway connecting Edo to Kyoto. “Futagawa” shows the Tokaido road winding through a lush mountainous area.
While following the ukiyo-e style conventions, this pre-1840s print displays Hiroshige’s earlier, more subdued use of color. The blues representing the mountains and sky are achieved with indigo pigments rather than the richer Prussian blues he would later use. The greens of the foliage and grays of the road are also more muted compared to the bolder colors of his 1840s landscapes. His depiction of rainfall is also harsher and includes a variety of harsh lines, rather than the more coherent rain we see in his later pieces.
Japanese, Utagawa Hiroshige. “Utagawa Hiroshige: Suhara, from the Sixty-Nine Stations of the Kisokaidō: Japan: Edo Period (1615–1868).” The Metropolitan Museum of Art, www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/56678. Accessed 10 May 2024.
Part of his 1830s series on the Kisokaidō road, this vertical landscape masterfully captures the ferocity of a driving mountain rainstorm through dynamic diagonals and twisting trees. With its muted colors and focus on un-adorned nature’s power, “Suhara” foreshadows Hiroshige’s later move toward dramatic atmospheric scenes devoid of architecture, demonstrating his early mastery of rendering nature’s beauty.
Japanese, Utagawa Hiroshige. “Utagawa Hiroshige: Shohei Bridge, Seido Temple and Kanda River: Japan: Edo Period (1615–1868).” The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1 Jan. 1970, www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/53679.
This print from Hiroshige’s famous “One Hundred Famous Views of Edo” series encapsulates the artist’s mature landscape style of the 1850s. With a dynamic diagonal composition, vivid Prussian blue pigments, and a high vantage perspective, Hiroshige masterfully blends architectural elements like the Shoheibashi bridge and Seido Temple pagoda with a rainy naturalistic scene of the Kanda River below. Exemplifying Hiroshige’s evolved artistic vision after 1840, the print harmonizes depictions of Edo’s urbanscape with the atmospheric beauty of nature itself. It is a quintessential work from the last years of the ukiyo-e master’s career.
Japanese, Utagawa Hiroshige. “Utagawa Hiroshige: View of the Asakusa Kinryuzan Temple from the Azuma Bridge in the Rain: Japan: Edo Period (1615–1868).” The Metropolitan Museum of Art, www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/45321. Accessed 10 May 2024.
In “View of the Asakusa Kinryuzan Temple from the Azuma Bridge in the Rain,” less frequent streaks are depicted, this time in a whitish-blue. Nature falls into a gray color, while the color is reserved for urban life: a temple surrounded by gray trees and what seems to either be tea houses or other merchant stores. Parked at the dock, instead of Tobos, we see wooden boats that appear more structurally-developed with rain covers. This showcases new convenience in materials as a nod to modernization of commonly-owned boats. A sense of preparedness for the rain overshadows the dramatic urgency seen in the other prints.
Bibliography:
Japanese, Utagawa Hiroshige. “Utagawa Hiroshige: Evening Rain in Azuma Wood: Japan: Edo Period (1615–1868).” The Metropolitan Museum of Art, www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/57065. Accessed 10 May 2024.
Japanese, Utagawa Hiroshige. “Utagawa Hiroshige: Futagawa: Japan: Edo Period (1615–1868).” The Metropolitan Museum of Art, www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/55159. Accessed 10 May 2024.
Japanese, Utagawa Hiroshige. “Utagawa Hiroshige: Shohei Bridge, Seido Temple and Kanda River: Japan: Edo Period (1615–1868).” The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1 Jan. 1970, www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/53679.
Japanese, Utagawa Hiroshige. “Utagawa Hiroshige: Spring Rain at Tsuchiyama, from the Series Fifty-Three Stations of the Tōkaidō: Japan: Edo Period (1615–1868).” The Metropolitan Museum of Art, www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/36971?who=Utagawa%2C%2BHiroshige%24Utagawa%2BHiroshige&ao=on&ft=%2A&offset=0&rpp=20&pos=4. Accessed 10 May 2024.
Japanese, Utagawa Hiroshige. “Utagawa Hiroshige: Sudden Shower over Shin-Ōhashi Bridge and Atake (Ōhashi Atake No Yūdachi), from the Series One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (Meisho Edo Hyakkei): Japan: Edo Period (1615–1868).” The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1 Jan. 1970, www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/37386?who=Utagawa%2C%2BHiroshige%24Utagawa%2BHiroshige&ao=on&ft=%2A&offset=0&rpp=20&pos=10.
Japanese, Utagawa Hiroshige. “Utagawa Hiroshige: Suhara, from the Sixty-Nine Stations of the Kisokaidō: Japan: Edo Period (1615–1868).” The Metropolitan Museum of Art, www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/56678. Accessed 10 May 2024.
Japanese, Utagawa Hiroshige. “Utagawa Hiroshige: Sunshower at Nihonbashi: Japan: Edo Period (1615–1868).” The Metropolitan Museum of Art, www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/36977. Accessed 10 May 2024.
Japanese, Utagawa Hiroshige. “Utagawa Hiroshige: Tea-Houses on the Bank of the Tadasu River in a Shower: Japan: Edo Period (1615–1868).” The Metropolitan Museum of Art, www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/56517. Accessed 10 May 2024.
Japanese, Utagawa Hiroshige. “Utagawa Hiroshige: Tiger Rain at Ōiso Station: Japan: Edo Period (1615–1868).” The Metropolitan Museum of Art, www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/36930. Accessed 10 May 2024.
Japanese, Utagawa Hiroshige. “Utagawa Hiroshige: View of the Asakusa Kinryuzan Temple from the Azuma Bridge in the Rain: Japan: Edo Period (1615–1868).” The Metropolitan Museum of Art, www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/45321. Accessed 10 May 2024.
Japanese, Utagawa Hiroshige. “Utagawa Hiroshige: White Rain at Shōno: Japan: Edo Period (1615–1868).” The Metropolitan Museum of Art, www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/57043. Accessed 10 May 2024.
Japanese, Utagawa Hiroshige II. “Utagawa Hiroshige II: Paulownia Trees at Akasaka in the Evening Rain: Japan: Edo Period (1615–1868).” The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1 Jan. 1970, www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/36708.
Kafū, Nagai, et al. “Ukiyo-e Landscapes and Edo Scenic Places (1914).” Review of Japanese Culture and Society, vol. 24, no. 1, 2012, pp. 210–32, https://doi.org/10.1353/roj.2012.0008.
Marks, Andreas. Japan Journeys : Famous Woodblock Prints of Cultural Sights in Japan. Tuttle Publishing, 2015.
