Object numberX.219

Aoi Slope, Outside Toranomon Gate

Portfolio/Seriesfrom the series One Hundred Famous Views of Edo

Date1857

Artist Utagawa Hiroshige (歌川広重) (Japanese, 1797-1858)

Publisher Uoya Eikichi

CultureJapanese

MediumWoodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper

DimensionsImage: 13 3/16 x 8 11/16 in. (33.5 x 22.1 cm)
Sheet (Vertical ōban): 13 3/8 x 8 15/16 in. (34 x 22.7 cm)

Period19th c (Edo period)

Classification(s)

SignedOn recto, lower left, signed in block: 広重画 (Hiroshige ga)

InscribedOn recto, upper right, in block: 名所江戸百景　虎の門外あふひ坂 (One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (Meisho Edo hyakkei); (Aoi Slope, Outside Toranomon Gate (Toranomon-soto Aoizaka)

Vassar Exhibitions

Bunmei Kaika: Political Landscape in Early Modern and Modern Japan

Label TextReligious sites were frequent subjects of meisho-e (pictures of famous places). While on the surface, Utagawa Hiroshige’s prints depict peaceful places of worship, they also reveal subtle connections with the ruling class. Framed by wisteria blossoms in the foreground, Inside Kameido Tenjin Shrine (right) depicts one of the site’s two famous drum-shaped bridges, built on land donated by the shogun Tokugawa Ietsuna after the Great Meireki Fire of 1657 as part of the city’s reconstruction efforts. Copper finials in a design called gibōshi adorn each of the bridge’s balusters, marking the shrine as a site with connections to the Tokugawa shogunate. An idyllic scene at dusk, Aoi Slope, Outside Toranomon Gate (left) also captures ties to members of the ruling class. In the print, the location’s proximity to Edo Castle and the visual cues to the apprentices’ spiritual practice subtly reveal the ruling class’s relationship with religion. In the foreground, two half-naked apprentices hold lanterns after a visit to Konpira Shrine, which was located on the territory of the daimyo Kyōgoku. The shrine opened monthly to the public, providing an alternative income source for the lord.

Terms

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email loebcollections@vassar.edu