A Hot Spring Inn at Yumoto thumbnail 1
Not currently on display at the V&A

A Hot Spring Inn at Yumoto

Woodblock Print
1851 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This 'uchiwa-e' (rigid fan print) design by Hiroshige shows a scene in a hot- spring inn. A woman is dancing to the accompaniment of a 'shamisen', the three-stringed musical instrument played by the woman on the right. The room is on the upper floor of an inn at Yumoto, which is one of the seven hot springs of Hakone. Hakone is situated in the south-western corner of Kanagawa Prefecture about 40 kilometres from Mount Fuji. It was the 10th post-station along the Tokaido Highway. City dwellers wanting to escape the noise and bustle of Edo (modern Tokyo) could reach it quite easily. Hakone is still one of the most frequently visited resorts in Japan.

The design is interesting. Hiroshige has taken particular care in depicting the porcelain drinking vessels in the middle of the room. The porcelain and lacquer food containers on the tray to the left are equally detailed. The characters on the lower right read 'yukyaku shukyo no tai', meaning 'guests merrymaking with sake'.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Titles
  • A Hot Spring Inn at Yumoto (assigned by artist)
  • A Tour of the Seven Hot Springs of Hakone (series title)
Materials and techniques
Colour print from woodblocks
Brief description
Woodblock print, Utagawa Hiroshige I; 'A Hot Spring Inn at Yumoto', from the series 'A Tour of the Seven Hot Springs of Hakone'; fan print, Japanese, 1851
Physical description
Fan print, aiban size. Artist signature: Hiroshige ga. Artist seal: Hiro. Publisher mark: Ibaya Senzaburo. Censor seals: Kinugasa and Murata.
Dimensions
  • Approx. height: 220mm
  • Approx. width: 290mm
Style
Credit line
R. Leicester Harmsworth Gift
Summary
This 'uchiwa-e' (rigid fan print) design by Hiroshige shows a scene in a hot- spring inn. A woman is dancing to the accompaniment of a 'shamisen', the three-stringed musical instrument played by the woman on the right. The room is on the upper floor of an inn at Yumoto, which is one of the seven hot springs of Hakone. Hakone is situated in the south-western corner of Kanagawa Prefecture about 40 kilometres from Mount Fuji. It was the 10th post-station along the Tokaido Highway. City dwellers wanting to escape the noise and bustle of Edo (modern Tokyo) could reach it quite easily. Hakone is still one of the most frequently visited resorts in Japan.

The design is interesting. Hiroshige has taken particular care in depicting the porcelain drinking vessels in the middle of the room. The porcelain and lacquer food containers on the tray to the left are equally detailed. The characters on the lower right read 'yukyaku shukyo no tai', meaning 'guests merrymaking with sake'.
Collection
Accession number
E.2915-1913

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Record createdNovember 18, 2003
Record URL
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