Copyright© Ota Memorial Museum of
Art. All rights reserved.
( Will be closed on July 6, 13, 21,27～31and August 3,10,17,24)
Let's Travel to the Edo Period
July 1st - August 26th, 2009
1. Let’s Go Back to the Edo Period!
－A walk in the city of Edo－
A trip to the
Edo period will start from the city of
Edo, or presently called Tokyo. Before embarking on our trip to the other parts
of the country, let’s take a casual walk around the city of Edo.
Among the ukiyo-e prints on the Edo scenery, there might be the scenery you may recognize. For example,
theSenso-ji temple viewed from the Kaminarimon (Thunder Gate) in Asakusa is depicted in a print from the
series “Famous places of Edo (Meisho Edo Hyakkei) ” by Utagawa Hiroshige, but this spot
continues to be visited by many tourists even today. Though the present temple
was reconstructed after this print was made, we can easily visualize the
atmosphere of the Edo period from these ukiyo-e prints.
Please look carefully for the differences between the places as you
may know and the same places as depicted in these prints from the Edo period.
●Utagawa Hiroshige “TheKinryuzan Temple from the series One Hundred Famous Views of Edo”
●Utagawa Kuniyoshi “Yanagibashi Ryōgoku from the series
“Famous Places in the Eastern Capital””
[Introduction]
(The works will change between 2 terms)
In the latter Edo period, traveling became popular among the public. People planned walking trips to places such as the Ise shrine (Ise Jingū) and stopped by many famous places along the way. Ukiyo-e prints well reflect the new manners and customs of this time. Many ukiyo-e artists like Katsushika Hokusai, Utagawa Hiroshige, Utagawa Kuniyoshi and Keisai Eisen depicted famous sceneries from Edo and all of Japan as well as the travelers and the roads they walked.
By means of these ukiyo-e prints, this exhibition is an invitation to a time travel in which you will be placed in the footsteps of the tourists of the Edo period. First, we will take a walk through the city of Edo. Next, we’ll get out from Edo and travel many parts of the country by touring the roads. Famous places depicted in ukiyo-e prints remain to be popular to this date and are still visited by many people even now. It will be interesting to find out the places where you have visited from the pieces of ukiyo-e prints.
The exhibition is designed for people who will see ukiyo-e prints for the first time and also for students in elementary and middle school. Please enjoy the vivid world depicted in ukiyo-e prints with your family.
People in the Edo period traveled frequently to places such as Ise shrine and the Kompira shrine. Traveling was not easy at that time because it was expensive and there was no public transportation. Nevertheless, people managed trips by splitting bills and taking turns for vacations. At the time, people used the Tōkaidō Road on the way to visit the Ise shrine and the Nakasendō Road on the way back. The lively appearances of the roads and stations were often depicted by many ukiyo-e artists including Utagawa Hiroshige and Keisai Eisen.
You will start your journey from Nihonbashi, the starting point for the two roads in the Edo city. Please enjoy the atmosphere of a long trip on foot.
2. Let’s Tour the Roads
－The Tōkaidō Road and the Nakasendō Road－
●Utagawa Hiroshige “Nihonbashi in the Morning
from the series the Fifty-three Stations of the
Tōkaidō Road″”
●Keisai Eisen “ Itahana from the series the Kiso Kaidō Road″
Many famous places in Japan are depicted in ukiyo-e prints. For most people at that time, a trip around the country was something they cannot afford many times in their lives. Therefore, people imagined and longed for places they have never been by seeing them in ukiyo-e prints. Many beautiful spots depicted in ukiyo-e prints still remain as sightseeing spots: Mt.Fuji, eight views of Ōmi near the Biwa Lake, famous temples and shrines such as the Itsukushima Shrine, natural phenomena like Naruto Kaikyō (Naruto Strait) and famous bridges like Kintai bridge .
Please take time to step aside from the road and enjoy the beautiful sceneries in the ukiyo-e prints as the Edo period travelers did.
3. Let’s Tour the Famous Places in Japan
－Famous Mountains, Temples, Shrines, Rivers and Bridges－
●Utagawa Hiroshige “Rough Sea at the Whirlpool at Awa Province from the series Famous Places in the Sixty-odd Provinces”
●Katsushika Hokusai “Kintaibashi Bridge in Suō
Province from the series Unusual Views of Famous
Bridges in Various Provinces”
AUGUST
S M T W T F S
01
02 03 04 05 06 07 08
09 10 11 12 13 14 15
16 17 18 19 20 21 22
23 24 25 26 27
28 29
30 31
JULY
S M T W T F S
01 02
03 04
05 06 07 08 09
10 11
12 13 14 15 16
17 18
19 20
21 22 23 24 25
26
27 28 29 30 31
What is ukiyo-e? What kinds of ukiyo-e are there? How did they develop? You may have heard of ukiyo-e, but many people do not know exactly what it is.
In this exhibition, we have added an introductory section in which for the ukiyo-e beginners and students will be introduced to the history and tradition of ukiyo-e and various kinds of ukiyo-e prints. Please learn about the intricacies of ukiyo-e prints with your kids.
4. To Ukiyo-e Beginners and School Children
- Introductory Section of Ukiyo-e-
Translation supervised by Princeton University Language Project