Sumida River in the Snow, from the series "Famous Places in Edo in the Four Seasons"

1834

Not on view

A boatman wearing a straw hat and raincoat poles a raft along the Sumida River, which flows through the downtown area of the capital city, Edo. Snow falls all over the surface of the print, effectively sealing off the world in the picture. The dreamlike impression also extends to the indefinite border between the river and sky. The classical waka poem at the upper left can be translated as follows:

Snow falls over the surface of the Sumida River, and
Unmelted masses might be capital birds.

"Capital birds" refers to an episode from the tenth-century literary classic the Tales of Ise (Ise monogatari), in which travelers from the ancient capital, Kyoto, see a type of gull along the Sumida River that reminds them of their home far away.

Artwork Details

Overview

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Provenance

Exhibition History

Sumidagawa no yuki
Title: Sumida River in the Snow, from the series "Famous Places in Edo in the Four Seasons"
Artist: Utagawa Hiroshige (Japanese, Tokyo (Edo) 1797–1858 Tokyo (Edo))
Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
Date: 1834
Culture: Japan
Medium: Woodblock print (tanzaku size); ink and color on paper
Dimensions: Tanzaku 14 3/4 x 5 in. (37.5 x 12.7 cm)
Classification: Prints
Credit Line: The Howard Mansfield Collection, Purchase, Rogers Fund, 1936
Object Number: JP2503
Curatorial Department: Asian Art

More Artwork

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Snow on the Sumida River, Utagawa Hiroshige Japanese, Woodblock print; ink and color on paper, Japan — Snow on the Sumida River
Utagawa Hiroshige
ca. 1835

Small View of Yedo, Utagawa Hiroshige Japanese, Print, Japanese — Small View of Yedo
Utagawa Hiroshige
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Hiratsuka, Nawate Do, Utagawa Hiroshige Japanese, Woodblock print; ink and color on paper, Japan — Hiratsuka, Nawate Do
Utagawa Hiroshige
ca. 1834

Yokkaichi, Sanchokawa, Utagawa Hiroshige Japanese, Woodblock print; ink and color on paper, Japan — Yokkaichi, Sanchokawa
Utagawa Hiroshige
ca. 1834

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