Snow Scenery Depicted in Ukiyo-e

December 1st ～20th, 2009

1. Hokusai, Hiroshige, Kunisada and Eisen

－Snow Scenery Depicted by Popular Ukiyo-e Artists

　Katsushika Hokusai and Utagawa Hiroshige depicted snow covered sceneries of the city of Edo and other famous places in the country. Through the ukiyo-e, they portrayed the daily lives of the common people in snow and sceneries where snow is falling silently on rivers and mountains.

On the other hand, Keisai Eisen and Utagawa Kunisada were good at depicting beautiful women through pictures (bijin-ga) and drew figures, such as women opening an umbrella under the heavy snow or looking at the snow, with a touch of voluptuous grace.

　●Utagawa Hiroshige “Fukagawa Susaki Jūmantsubo from One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (Meisho Edo Hyakkei)

　A scene of snow spreads below as the large eagle descends. In the distance, Mount. Tsukuba is visible.

●Utagawa Hiroshige “Mountains and Streams in Kisoji ”
　Snow covers the gigantic mountains, amongst which a lone traveler’s small figure accentuates the grandeur of nature.

As the phrase “Snow, Moon and Flowers” exists for a long time, Japanese people have regarded snow as one of the beautiful sceneries which color the four seasons. During the Edo period, places such as Sumida Riverand Kan’ei-ji Temple became snow seeing spots as a result of seasonal outdoor amusement infiltrating into the daily lives of the common people. People in the Edo period seemed to have enjoyed the various sentiments depicted in the snow sceneries than people in the present time. In this exhibition, we hope you will enjoy the snow sceneries which were admired by the people in the Edo period through various ukiyo-e prints.

Snow appears frequently in depictions of scenes from classical stories or kabuki plays. Various kinds of snow are portrayed in the background, ranging from quietly falling snow to intense snow storms, and enhance the mood of the scene.

●Katsushika Hokusai “One-hundred Poems
Explained by a Nurse: Poet Minamoto no
Muneyuki Ason”
　In this series, Hokusai illustrated his own
interpretations of the “Hyakunin Isshu” (One
Hundred Poems by One Hundred Poets), a famous
collection of waka (a classical form of Japanese
poetry). Note the depiction of wriggling smoke,
characteristic of Hokusai’s style.

●Utagawa Kunisada “Parody Picture: Gentoku Visiting Kōmei in the Heavy Snow”
　Sumida　River, famous for its snow-filled scenery, is depicted against the figures of three women. This scene was inspired by the story “Sanko-no-rei” (“Three Visits”) from “Romance of the Three Kingdoms,” a Chinese historical novel.

Patterns of snow crystals and snow-covered pine needles were often used as backgrounds or kimono designs. Here, we introduce a design that was familiar to people in the Edo period.

●Utagawa Kunichika “Kabuki Actor, Otani Shidō as Omiwa “ (Left-part of theTriptych)
　A pattern of snow crystals serves as the background in this portrait of a kabuki actor (yakusha-e).

●Utagawa Hiroshige “Drama called “Chūshingura” : Dawn Attack”
　In this tense scene illuminated by snow and moonlight, Akō samurai discover their enemy Kira Kōzukenosuke, who had been hiding.

DECEMBER

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