Cherry Trees on Mount Goten thumbnail 1
Not currently on display at the V&A

Cherry Trees on Mount Goten

Woodblock Print
1856 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The commanding view of Edo Bay in this uchiwa-e (rigid fan print) design by Hiroshige is taken from the top of Mount Goten in the southern (Shinagawa) part of the Takanawa district in south Edo. When the villa that occupied the site burnt down in the late 17th century, it became a popular place for viewing cherry blossoms open to the citizens of Edo at large. Like the view taken from the opposite direction in Hiroshige's One Hundred Famous Views of Edo, the focus here is less on the blooming cherry trees than on the scarred landscape that resulted from huge quantities of earth being dug away to build the cluster of island fortresses visible in the distance. Known as odaiba, these were built as an emergency measure following the arrival of Commodore Perry and his American warships in 1853.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Titles
  • Cherry Trees on Mount Goten (assigned by artist)
  • Flower Siblings at Famous Places (series title)
Materials and techniques
Colour print from woodblocks
Brief description
Woodblock print, Utagawa Hiroshige I; 'Cherry Trees on Mount Goten', from the series 'Flower Siblings at Famous Places'; fan print, Japanese, 1856
Physical description
Fan print, aiban size. Artist signature: Hiroshige ga. Publisher mark: Sanpei. Censorship seal: aratame. Date seal: Dragon 1 (1856/1).
Style
Object history
Purchased from S. M. Franck & Co., accessioned in 1886. This acquisition information reflects that found in the Asia Department registers, as part of a 2022 provenance research project.
Place depicted
Summary
The commanding view of Edo Bay in this uchiwa-e (rigid fan print) design by Hiroshige is taken from the top of Mount Goten in the southern (Shinagawa) part of the Takanawa district in south Edo. When the villa that occupied the site burnt down in the late 17th century, it became a popular place for viewing cherry blossoms open to the citizens of Edo at large. Like the view taken from the opposite direction in Hiroshige's One Hundred Famous Views of Edo, the focus here is less on the blooming cherry trees than on the scarred landscape that resulted from huge quantities of earth being dug away to build the cluster of island fortresses visible in the distance. Known as odaiba, these were built as an emergency measure following the arrival of Commodore Perry and his American warships in 1853.
Collection
Accession number
E.12079-1886

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Record createdMarch 5, 2000
Record URL
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