
1856
Utagawa Hiroshige 歌川 広重 Japanese, 1797-1858
Japan
This print depicts a scene on the Sumida River, also known as the Asakusa River. The sun has set and the stars are already appearing in the clear sky of early evening. To the left is the famous Pine of Success, a tree that symbolized visitors’ desires to get their money’s worth in the nearby pleasure quarters of the Yoshiwara. In the lower left corner of the image, a roofed boat sits with its green blinds lowered, the figure of a woman silhouetted behind them. She must not be alone: two pairs of clogs are just visible in the prow.
Color woodblock print; ōban