Episode 592 – The Artist of the Open Road, Part 2

August 29, 2025

This week, we’re covering Hiroshige’s emergence as an artist, which took 20 years after he finished his apprenticeship in the Utagawa school. Why the long gap? And what changed to finally allow him to break out artistically?

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Sources

Haft, Alfred. Hiroshige: Artist of the Open Road

Forer, Matthi. Hiroshige

Images

One of Utagawa Toyohiro’s many bijinga, or portraits of beautiful women. This was what he was famous for, and generally it was one of the largest segments of the ukiyo-e market before the “landscape craze” of the late Edo period.
A Toyohiro landscape. Landscapes sold before the publication of 36 Views of Mt Fuji, but they were not as popular as other genres.
Do I even need to caption this?
Fine Wind, Clear Morning is both one of Hokusai’s most famous works and a great example of bokashi grading between colors.
Kanbara, from the 53 Stations of the Tokaido.
Rain Shower at Shono, from 53 Stations of the Tokaido. Another great example of bokashi, and of the “action” of Hiroshige’s travel prints (which are far more than just landscapes).