Cherry Trees in Bloom along the Embankment of the Tama River – Utagawa Hiroshige – 1856

Woodblock print – Utagawa Hiroshige One Hundred Famous Views of Edo – Cherry Trees in Bloom along the Embankment of the Tama River. 1856

名所江戸百景, Meisho Edo Hyakkei, or in English, One Hundred Famous Views of Edo is a series of 119 ukiyo-e prints begun and largely completed by the Japanese artist Utagawa Hiroshige. The prints were first published posthumously and some prints had not been completed — Over the last decade of his life, Hiroshige produced 118 sheets for the One Hundred Famous Views of Edo series, beginning about 1848. Two more prints were completed by his son-in-law Hiroshige II and included after his death. The set was first released in serialized form in 1856–59.  The series was immensely popular and regularly reprinted.

During his lifetime Hiroshige is thought to have produced over 8,000 woodblock artworks and in the early days, his work revolved around common ukiyo-e themes such as women and actors. However, the death of his tutor, Toyohiro in 1828 saw Hiroshige switch to the landscape painting his master was known for. In 1831, Hiroshige’s landscape series Famous Views of the Eastern Capital (東都名所 Tōto Meisho) was published and critically acclaimed for its composition and colors. 

In 182, Hiroshige was invited to join an official procession to Kyoto. This gave Hiroshige the opportunity to travel along the Tōkaidō route that linked the two capitals. Rather than using reference material from previous artists to create the images, Hiroshige was able to sketch the scenery along the 490km journey.

On his return to Edo, Hiroshige published the series The Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō, which contains some of his best-known work. The prints contained details of dates, locations, and even anecdotes of his fellow travellers. The series was so popular that he reissued it in three versions. Hiroshige went on to produce more than 2000 different prints of Edo and Tōkaidō (post stations ). In addition, he went on to create other series including The Sixty-nine Stations of the Kisokaidō (1834–1842) and the Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (1852–1858).

The print featured on this listing titled 玉川堤の花, Tamagawa Tsutsumi no Hana which in English translates to Cherry Blossoms on the Banks of the Tama River. The image was created at the Tama River-Jōsui channel about 40km outside Edo (Tokyo). It is a centuries-old, tree-shaded channel popular for peaceful strolls & cherry blossom viewings in spring. The print is number 43/119 in the series and is the last of the set’s Spring images.

Our posters are carefully and professionally created from vintage originals. Whilst great care is taken in the production of these posters, we also try to maintain a vintage feel, so there may be small imperfections, fold marks, scuffs, tears, or marks that were part of the original poster master. If these do appear they should be visible on the larger views of the item on this listing. The originals of many of the posters we offer can cost many thousands of pounds, so whilst these posters look great, especially framed and mounted on a wall, they are intended as fun, affordable reproductions and not intended fine art prints.

The 50x70cm version has been specially produced to be used in conjunction with Ikea’s 50x70cm Ribba picture frame which currently retails for around £12. So you can bag a bargain of print and frame for a great price.