Artist: Hiroshige
Medium: Original Japanese Woodblock Print
Series Title: The 60-Odd Provinces
Edition: Original
Date: 1853
Publisher: K. Heisuke
Reference No.: Hiroshige's Journey in the 60-odd Provinces: Cat. #15; pg. 58-59
Size: 14 -1/2 x 10 "
Condition: Very fine, with superb colors
Notes:
Strong colors throughout with careful gradation and shading of different tints on the rocks and hillside. Hiroshige often depicted this location since Enoshima was close to his home in Edo. This print depicts the entrance of the caves with Mount Fuji on the left horizon. The rope between the rock and the mountain above the path indicates the entrance to the sacred Shinto shrine for Benzaiten, the goddess of fortune and artistic success.
Famous Views of the Sixty-Odd Provinces: The most striking difference to all the other landscape series designed until then by Hiroshige and other print artists was the vertical layout of all 69 prints. Moreover, the series was distinguished by the frequent use of bokashi (gradation printing), especially in the skies and water, and in the careful gradation and shading of different tints into each other on the rocks and mountains. These innovations helped contribute to the success of this series. The emphasis of the prints in this series is on nature. The aim was to depict a famous place from each of the provinces, which is probably also the reason why relatively few people are featured in this series. Even when humans are depicted, it is often to emphasize the overwhelming nature around them. - Hiroshige's Journey in the 60-odd Provinces.