Hiroshige: Gate to Yuga Shrine at Tanokuchi Beach in Bizen

Ando Hiroshige

From the series: Illustrated Guide to Famous Places in the Sixty-odd Provinces (六十余州名所図会). The series consists of a print of a famous view from each of the 68 provinces of Japan plus a print of Edo, the capital, and a contents page for a total of 70 prints. The series uses a vertical (立て絵, tate-e) layout for each of the prints. The size was the vertical ôban: 35.6 x 24.8 cm (14 x 9 3/4 in.)

This was the first time such a format had been used in a major Japanese landscape print series. A likely reason for Hiroshige's choice was that rather than travel to the actual locations, he based many of his designs on Meisho Zue guidebooks which used a vertical, rather than horizontal, format.

Date: 1853

Condition: Good condition, not backed. Some dirt and discoloration due to the environment. Missing piece in top left border.

Publisher: Koshimuraya Heisuke

https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/A_1902-0212-0-397-17