The Plum Garden at Omurai
Woodblock Print
1856 (made)
1856 (made)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
The setting in this uchiwa-e (rigid fan print) design by Hiroshige is the Omurai plum garden behind the Azuma Shrine in the south-east corner of Edo's north-easterly Mukojima district. The courtesans in the foreground are well wrapped on the cold winter's day. Behind them, across a stretch of water, are small figures climbing up a grassy hill. This is, in fact, an artificial replica of Mount Fuji, one of many such constructions dotted about Edo in Hiroshige's time. The first of these was built in Takada in the western part of the city in 1779. It was the brainchild of a follower of a popular religious cult whose worship focused on Mount Fuji and for whom the climb to its 3,776-metre summit was the ultimate undertaking. This journey was more than could by managed by the young, the infirm and the elderly, and it was for their benefit that miniature versions of Mount Fuji like this one were built. The slip of folded paper in the hair of the woman on the left is a talisman from the Myogi Shrine, located in the grounds of the nearby Kameido Tenjin Shrine. Talismans from the Myogi Shrine were believed to provide protection against thunder and lightning. They were obtainable on the first Rabbit Day of each month.
Object details
Category | |
Object type | |
Titles |
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Materials and techniques | Woodblock print on paper |
Brief description | Woodblock print, Utagawa Hiroshige I; 'The Plum Garden at Omurai', 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). |
Dimensions |
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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 setting in this uchiwa-e (rigid fan print) design by Hiroshige is the Omurai plum garden behind the Azuma Shrine in the south-east corner of Edo's north-easterly Mukojima district. The courtesans in the foreground are well wrapped on the cold winter's day. Behind them, across a stretch of water, are small figures climbing up a grassy hill. This is, in fact, an artificial replica of Mount Fuji, one of many such constructions dotted about Edo in Hiroshige's time. The first of these was built in Takada in the western part of the city in 1779. It was the brainchild of a follower of a popular religious cult whose worship focused on Mount Fuji and for whom the climb to its 3,776-metre summit was the ultimate undertaking. This journey was more than could by managed by the young, the infirm and the elderly, and it was for their benefit that miniature versions of Mount Fuji like this one were built. The slip of folded paper in the hair of the woman on the left is a talisman from the Myogi Shrine, located in the grounds of the nearby Kameido Tenjin Shrine. Talismans from the Myogi Shrine were believed to provide protection against thunder and lightning. They were obtainable on the first Rabbit Day of each month. |
Collection | |
Accession number | E.12080-1886 |
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Record created | March 5, 2000 |
Record URL |
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