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Not currently on display at the V&A

Returning Sails at Tsukuda

Woodblock Print
1843-1847 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The view in this uchiwa-e (rigid fan print) design by Hiroshige is taken from the island of Tsukudajima, a small area of land reclaimed from Edo Bay in 1645-1646 as the port for a group of fishermen in the employ of the Tokugawa shogunate (the ruling military family). Women and children chat and fish against a backdrop of boats sailing in from the open sea. The south-west corner of the Honjo Fukagawa district of eastern Edo is visible behind the cargo ship to the left, while far away on the horizon one can glimpse the profile of the Boso Peninsula, part of modern Chiba Prefecture. The design is one of a complete set of eight prints owned by the V&A. The Hakkei ('Eight Views') formula was a popular one, having its ultimate source in Chinese paintings of the Xiao and Xiang rivers. It was originally used in Japan in the form of poetic and painterly references to eight famous sites around Lake Biwa in south-west Japan’s Omi Province (modern Shiga Prefecture).


Object details

Categories
Object type
Titles
  • Returning Sails at Tsukuda (assigned by artist)
  • Eight Views of Edo (series title)
Materials and techniques
Colour print from woodblocks
Brief description
Woodblock print, Utagawa Hiroshige I; 'Returning Sails at Tsukuda', from the series 'Eight Views of Edo'; fan print, Japanese, 1843-1847
Physical description
Fan print, aiban size. Artist signature: Hiroshige ga. Publisher mark: Ibaya Senzaburo. Censor seal: Yoshimura.
Dimensions
  • Approx. height: 220mm
  • Approx. width: 290mm
Style
Object history
Purchased from J. S. Happer, accessioned in 1911. This acquisition information reflects that found in the Asia Department registers, as part of a 2022 provenance research project.
Place depicted
Summary
The view in this uchiwa-e (rigid fan print) design by Hiroshige is taken from the island of Tsukudajima, a small area of land reclaimed from Edo Bay in 1645-1646 as the port for a group of fishermen in the employ of the Tokugawa shogunate (the ruling military family). Women and children chat and fish against a backdrop of boats sailing in from the open sea. The south-west corner of the Honjo Fukagawa district of eastern Edo is visible behind the cargo ship to the left, while far away on the horizon one can glimpse the profile of the Boso Peninsula, part of modern Chiba Prefecture. The design is one of a complete set of eight prints owned by the V&A. The Hakkei ('Eight Views') formula was a popular one, having its ultimate source in Chinese paintings of the Xiao and Xiang rivers. It was originally used in Japan in the form of poetic and painterly references to eight famous sites around Lake Biwa in south-west Japan’s Omi Province (modern Shiga Prefecture).
Collection
Accession number
E.532-1911

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Record createdMarch 11, 2003
Record URL
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