Ando Hiroshige Prints

Japanese Woodblock Art

Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858), often credited as Andō Hiroshige or Ichiyūsai Hiroshige, was pre-eminent Japanese woodblock printer, or ukiyo-e artist. His parents died when he was only 12, at which point he took over his father's hereditary job as a fire chief at shogun's palace. Hiroshige showed much artistic promise as a young boy, and because his job was easy and paid him adequately, he could study advanced art techniques at his liesure.

At 15 he became an apprentice the ukiyo-e master Utagawa Toyohiro, who trained many other prominent artists in Japan. Hiroshige's series Famous Places in the Eastern Capital and The Fifty-Three Stations of the Tōkaidō are his most celebrated works, helping assure his reputation as one of the foremost woodblock artists of his time and earning him many loyal customers. Hiroshige's iconic print, Navaro Rapids is one of the most recognizeable ukiyo-e pieces of the Edo period.

By the time he was 30 he had resigned his sinecure as fire chief so that he could be an artist full-time. During his lifetime, Hiroshige created tens of thousands of prints and paintings. Such prolificacy was borne out of his need to earn a decent living, since printmaking was only moderately profitable. (Images courtesy of Allposters.com.)