Cherry Blossoms on the Shinjuku Embankment at Yotsuya thumbnail 1
Not currently on display at the V&A

Cherry Blossoms on the Shinjuku Embankment at Yotsuya

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

The evening view in this uchiwa-e (rigid fan print) design by Hiroshige is taken from the upper storey of one of the brothels in the Naito Shinjuku area in the north-west corner of the Yotsuya district in western Edo. The prostitutes on the balcony, one of them wearing an outer coat of tell-tale red that marks her out as such, are enjoying the cherry trees blossoming along the southern bank of the Tama River Water Supply. This went below ground at the Yotsuya Barrier, a little way off the left-hand margin of this print, and fed into a system of channels and pipes that supplied a network of wells in the south and west parts of the city. The cherry trees that made the embankment such a magical sight in spring were planted in the 1730s.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleCherry Blossoms on the Shinjuku Embankment at Yotsuya (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Colour print from woodblocks
Brief description
Woodblock print, Utagawa Hiroshige I; 'Cherry Blossoms on the Shinjuku Embankment at Yotsuya'; fan print, Japanese, 1856
Physical description
Fan print, aiban size. Artist signature: Hiroshige ga. Publisher mark: Ibaya Senzaburo. Censorship seal: aratame. Date seal: Dragon 2 (1856/2).
Dimensions
  • Approx. height: 220mm
  • Approx. width: 290mm
Style
Credit line
R. Leicester Harmsworth Gift
Place depicted
Summary
The evening view in this uchiwa-e (rigid fan print) design by Hiroshige is taken from the upper storey of one of the brothels in the Naito Shinjuku area in the north-west corner of the Yotsuya district in western Edo. The prostitutes on the balcony, one of them wearing an outer coat of tell-tale red that marks her out as such, are enjoying the cherry trees blossoming along the southern bank of the Tama River Water Supply. This went below ground at the Yotsuya Barrier, a little way off the left-hand margin of this print, and fed into a system of channels and pipes that supplied a network of wells in the south and west parts of the city. The cherry trees that made the embankment such a magical sight in spring were planted in the 1730s.
Collection
Accession number
E.2926-1913

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Record createdMarch 12, 2003
Record URL
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