Hiroshige: Bashô’s Hermitage (Sold)

Artist: Utagawa Hiroshige
Title: Bashô’s Hermitage
Series: One Hundred Famous Views of Edo: Meisho Edo Hyakkei
Date: 1857

Bashô’s Hermitage and Camellia Hill on the Kanda Aqueduct at Sekiguchi (Sekiguchi jôsui-bata bashôan tsubakiyama). First, or deluxe edition. On the hillside to the right was Suijinsha, a shrine to the water god that protected the Aqueduct, located just out of view. The structure pictured on the slope is the Ryûgean, a hermitage of the nearby Zen Buddhist temple. The Ryûgean was known for its beautiful setting and view of the rice fields below. In the far distance we see a row of trees that is now the location of Waseda University. Hiroshige has chosen to show us blooming cherry trees, so it must be springtime.

The view here is looking west along the Kanda Aqueduct, which ran for more than 10 miles and was constructed early in the Edo Period.

Condition: Excellent impression, color and condition.
Dimensions: ôban 35.8 x 24.8 cm
Publisher: Uoya Eikichi
Literature: Henry Smith II: “Hiroshige: One Hundred Famous View of Edo”, plate 40.
Signature: Hiroshige ga

SKU: HIR455