Eight Views of Omi: Autumn Moon at Ishiyama

Object Details

• Artist

  Utagawa Hiroshige 歌川広重 (1797-1858)

• Label

  In contrast to his lively designs for his series, Fifty-three Stations along the Tokaido (Tokaido gojvsantsugi), published in the early 1830s, the landscapes of Hiroshige's Eight Views of Omi are serene and lyrical, in keeping with their poetic inspiration. The printing in this series features carefully controlled gradations of color that convey effects such as, in this print, the light of the full moon on the monochromatic nocturnal scene of mountains and lake. The Buddhist temple, Ishiyamadera, is barely visible in this rendering. The poem appears to the left of the title in a square cartouche that is decorated like the elegant papers for Japanese calligraphy. It reads:

  Ishiyama!

  the moonlight

  that shines on the Bay of Niho

  is none other than that

  at both Suma and Akashi!

  Suma was the place of Prince Genji's exile in The Tale of Genji, and Ishiyamadera, according to legend, was the site where the court lady Murasaki Shikibu wrote The Tale of Genji.

  Translation of poem by Joshua S. Mostow

• Collection

  National Museum of Asian Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Masterful Illusions: Japanese Prints from the Anne van Biema Collection (September 15, 2002 to January 9, 2003)

• Origin

  Japan

• Credit Line

  The Anne van Biema Collection

• Type

  Print

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

  There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

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• Date

  1700s, 1710s, 1720s, 1770s, 1780s, 1790s, 1730s, 1740s, 1750s, 1760s, 1800s, 1810s, 1820s, 1830s, 1610s, 1650s, 1640s, 1630s, 1620s, 1690s, 1840s, 1680s, 1850s, 1670s, 1860s, 1660s

• Name

  Utagawa, Hiroshige

• Place

  Japan

• Topic

  Bridges, Art, Autumn, Temple, Moon, Oban, Outer space, Edo period, Japan, (1600 - 1868), Japanese Art, Anne van Biema collection, Ukiyo-e, Poetry

• Culture

  Japanese

• Object Type

  Prints