Title : Koganei in Musashi Province

Artist : Utagawa Hiroshige

Date : 1859

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Source : Honolulu Museum of Art
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Description : Hiroshige often emphasized seasonal elements in his prints, in this case, sakura (cherry blossoms), one of the most familiar Japanese symbols of spring. Using a compositional technique characteristic of his later years, Hiroshige greatly exaggerated the size of a single element—the trunk of a cherry tree—in the foreground, and severely cropped it so that the tree extends far beyond both the upper and lower borders. The viewer only catches a glimpse of the main subject, Mount Fuji, which is mostly obscured and just visible through a hole in the trunk. This visual technique seems to have inspired many later foreign photographers and their Japanese counterparts in the port cities of Yokohama, Köbe, and Nagasaki, where they would have been in close contact with foreign clients during the Meiji period. The paradigmatic portrayal of the Japanese landscape established by Hiroshige endured long after his death, and its lingering influence can still be felt today in the official images used to promote international tourism in Japan. “Hokusai’s Summit: Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji” (09/24/2009-01/06/2010) ******************************

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