Hiroshige 広重: Dawn Inside the Yoshiwara 廓中東雲

Artist: Utagawa Hiroshige 歌川広重 (1797-1858)

Title: Dawn Inside the Yoshiwara 廓中東雲

Series: One Hundred Famous Views of Edo 名所江戸百景  Date: 1857

“In one of the most beautifully executed prints of the entire series, Hiroshige has here placed us in a strangely evocative zone of transition, as dawn begins to break in the Yoshiwara licensed quarter”. (Henry Smith II). A male guest adjusts his head covering as he heads for home following a night of entertainment, passing the planted cherry trees at the gate to the Yoshiwara. We see the coming of the dawn as three figures in the middle distance prepare for the departure of their guest, who is bid farewell by the courtesan herself, dressed in bright red. Thanks to the expert printers and their use of bokashi, the transition of colors and tones in the sky and trees creates the atmosphere of predawn. The diagonal of the roof at left creates balance for the opposing diagonal row of the rooflines of the buildings at left, which echoes the line of people; note the strong perspective. Hiroshige was a genius at internally symmetrical designs, and this series has many works that are proof of this. There is mica added to the blackness of the upper sky, another indication of an early impression.

Literature: Henry Smith II: “Hiroshige’s One Hundred Famous Views of Edo”, plate 38. See Metropolitan Museum of Art, Brooklyn Museum, RISD Museum, MFA Boston.

Condition: Excellent impression and color. Very good condition. Barely visible center fold.

Dimensions: ôban (36.5x 24.7 cm)  Publisher: Uo-ya Eikichi
Signature: Hiroshige ga

SKU: HIR550