Horikiri no hanashôbu, by Utagawa Hiroshige

An image of Horikiri no hanashôbu. Hiroshige, Utagawa (Japanese, 1797-1858). Colour print from woodblocks. Ôban. Signed: Hiroshige ga. Publisher: Uoei (Uoya Eikichi). Date seal: Snake 5 (5/1857). Censor’s seal: aratame. 1857. Ukiyo-e. Notes: No. 64 from the series Meisho Edo hyakkei (One hundred famous views of Edo), in the section for Summer. The village of Horikiri was situated about a mile east of the mouth of the Ayase River seen in the adjacent print. It was one of many farming communities around Edo that produced flowers for the city market. A year-round variety of flowers was grown in this swampy area, but it was best known for the hanashôbu, a type of iris that had been cultivated here since the 1660s and had been developed into several exotic hybrids. The plant was introduced into the West in 1852 and in the following decades the Horikiri plantations developed a booming export trade for bulbs; this faded in the 1920s after the plant had become well established in Europe and the United States. Sightseers from Edo are seen admiring the blossoms. An alternative printing has more subtle shading and a more elaborately coloured cartouche. T.3450.

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Horikiri no hanashôbu. Hiroshige, Utagawa (Japanese, 1797-1858). Colour print from woodblocks. Ôban. Signed: Hiroshige ga. Publisher: Uoei (Uoya Eikichi). Date seal: Snake 5 (5/1857). Censor’s seal: aratame. 1857. Ukiyo-e. Notes: No. 64 from the series Meisho Edo hyakkei (One hundred famous views of Edo), in the section for Summer. The village of Horikiri was situated about a mile east of the mouth of the Ayase River seen in the adjacent print. It was one of many farming communities around Edo that produced flowers for the city market. A year-round variety of flowers was grown in this swampy area, but it was best known for the hanashôbu, a type of iris that had been cultivated here since the 1660s and had been developed into several exotic hybrids. The plant was introduced into the West in 1852 and in the following decades the Horikiri plantations developed a booming export trade for bulbs; this faded in the 1920s after the plant had become well established in Europe and the United States. Sightseers from Edo are seen admiring the blossoms. An alternative printing has more subtle shading and a more elaborately coloured cartouche. T.3450.

Image data

Accession Number: P.3569-R
Photograph copyright © The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.
Photographer name: Image Library; Fitzwilliam Museum
Image height: 1025 pixels
Image width: 717 pixels
Processed with: Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5.0 (Windows)
Filesize: 962.85kB

Key words

19th Century colour printing Edo Period exterior Fitz_PDP floral flowers hanashobu Hiroshige Iridaceae iris Irises Japanese oban print river river scene seasons sightseers Summer tourist ukiyo-e Uoya Eikichi Utagawa Hiroshige woodblock woodcut

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            The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024)
            "Horikiri no hanashôbu, by Utagawa Hiroshige"
            Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/image/media-2056746642 Accessed: 2024-11-25 09:33:50

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