The Benkei Moat from Soto-Sakurada to Kōjimachi

Utagawa Hiroshige

1856 · Woodblock print; ink and color on paper · National Diet Library, Tokyo

Size2:3 ratio

Frame

$59Unframed print · made to order

📦 Free shipping on every order, arriving in 4–9 business days with production included. Express ($14.90) at checkout arrives in 4–6 business days.

Complete the setHangs well with these two

This print

The Benkei Moat from Soto-Sakurada to Kōjimachi

In the Akiba Shrine at Ukeji

Aoi Slope outside Toranomon Gate

3 × $59 at 16 × 24 in, unframed = $177 → $159.30 as a set · 10% included · free shipping

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Giclée-printed to order on heavyweight matte fine-art paper

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Arrives perfect or we reprint it — free

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About this work

Artist: Utagawa Hiroshige (1797–1858)
Year: 1856
Medium: Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Original size: approx. 36 × 24 cm (ōban)
Collection: National Diet Library, Tokyo (impression pid 1303272; many other impressions exist)
Movement: Ukiyo-e
Series: One Hundred Famous Views of Edo

A wide, pale blue moat curves away between steep green embankments, with the red gate and white walls of a samurai residence on the far bank and tall trees and roofs beyond. Along the road in the foreground, a line of small figures in hats walks beside the water. The print is number fifty-four in One Hundred Famous Views of Edo, published by Uoya Eikichi, with a censor's seal of the fifth month of 1856. The Benkei moat ran outside Edo Castle between the Soto-Sakurada and Kōjimachi districts. Much of the sheet is given over to open water printed in a soft graded blue; impressions vary in colour and condition.

This print reproduces the whole work, uncropped, from a high-resolution scan of the original. The original is in the public domain.

Where it works

Soft moat blue and bright green with a touch of red, for a hallway, study or home office at 16×24 in natural wood. It pairs with Hibiya and Soto-Sakurada from Yamashita-chō, another view of the castle moats.

Style, size & framing detail

Style: Ukiyo-e painting
Era: 19th century (1856)
Orientation: Portrait
Palette: cornflower blue
Mood: classic
Rooms: hallway or entryway, study or library, home office, living room, dining room
Good gift for: housewarming, travelers, art lovers

Size. We'd hang this one at 16×24. Prints at 12×18, 16×24 in — 12×18 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 16×24 above a desk, console or in a hallway.

Framing. The gallery ground is part of the print, so frame it without a mat — natural wood flatters the lighter palette; black sharpens it.

Pairing. Pairs as a set of three with other famous painting prints (10% off three or more).

Details & materials

• Restored in-house from the original painting — cleaned and colour-trued at museum resolution • Heavyweight matte fine-art paper, giclée printed at 300 DPI • Sizes: 12×18, 16×24 in; every size also available framed • Framed option: wood frame in black or natural wood, 12 mm wide and 22 mm deep, with a plexiglass front and no mat; the print is mounted inside and the frame's outside measures the listed size • Made to order; colours may vary slightly from screen

Shipping & returns

Printed after you order at the facility nearest you, then shipped. Standard delivery is free and takes 4–9 business days from order to door in the US, UK and EU (up to 10 elsewhere); Express takes 4–6 business days. Because each print is made to order we don't take change-of-mind returns, but if it arrives damaged or flawed we'll reprint or refund it — no return needed. Full policy →

Is this the whole painting, or a crop?

The whole work, uncropped. The image fills the print at the painting's own proportions; nothing is trimmed to fit a frame.

Is The Benkei Moat from Soto-Sakurada to Kōjimachi in the public domain?

Yes. Utagawa Hiroshige (1797–1858) died more than 70 years ago and the work was published before 1929, so the painting itself is public domain. This print is a reproduction made from a high-resolution scan of the original, which is held by National Diet Library.

What is it printed on?

Heavyweight matte fine-art paper with pigment inks, made to order in 12×18 and 16×24 inches; every size is also offered framed in black or natural wood, with plexiglass and no mat. Colours are matched to the scan, not brightened.

When was The Benkei Moat from Soto-Sakurada to Kōjimachi painted, and in what medium?

The Benkei Moat from Soto-Sakurada to Kōjimachi dates from 1856 and was made in woodblock print; ink and color on paper; the original measures approx. 36 × 24 cm (ōban).

What size works above a sofa or bed?

Across a three-seat sofa or a queen bed, 16×24 is the size that reads as one statement piece; 12×18 suits a narrower wall or a pair. For The Benkei Moat from Soto-Sakurada to Kōjimachi we'd choose 16×24.

About this design

The Benkei Moat from Soto-Sakurada to Kōjimachi (Utagawa Hiroshige) — The Benkei Moat from Soto-Sakurada to Kōjimachi, One Hundred Famous Views of Edo · Utagawa Hiroshige · 1856. This is a fine-art reproduction of a public-domain masterwork, shown whole and uncropped on a gallery ground, printed to order on heavyweight matte fine-art paper. Every size is offered unframed or framed in black or natural wood. Part of the Madten Fine Art Collection. — — — Printed to order and shipped by our production partner, Gelato.

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The Madten promise

Gallery-grade archival giclée. Rich pigment inks on heavyweight fine-art paper (or gallery-wrapped canvas) — built to last, not a poster-shop print.

Arrives perfect or we reprint it — free. Every piece is made to order; if it shows up damaged or flawed we remake it, no return needed.

Free worldwide shipping. Made & shipped from the facility nearest you — most orders arrive in 4–9 business days.

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