Kasumigaseki
1857 · Woodblock print; ink and color on paper · National Diet Library, Tokyo
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This print
About this work
- Artist
- Utagawa Hiroshige (1797–1858)
- Year
- 1857
- Medium
- Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
- Original size
- approx. 36 × 24 cm (ōban)
- Collection
- National Diet Library, Tokyo (impression pid 1303206; many other impressions exist)
- Movement
- Ukiyo-e
- Series
- One Hundred Famous Views of Edo
A broad street runs downhill between the long white walls of samurai mansions to a strip of blue sea, while New Year kites fly high above the crowd on long, looping strings. Small groups of people in festive dress stroll up the slope, and the tall pines of the estates frame the view on either side. The print is number two in Hiroshige's One Hundred Famous Views of Edo, published by Uoya Eikichi, with a censor's seal of the first month of 1857. Kasumigaseki was a district of daimyo residences on the slope above Edo Bay, and the open sky gives the composition an airy, holiday mood. The pale blue sky is graded with bokashi to a red band at the horizon; impressions vary in colour and condition.
This full-bleed edition prints the work edge to edge from a high-resolution scan of the original, very slightly cropped (a few percent at most) to fit the sheet. The gallery edition shows the whole work, uncropped. The original is in the public domain.
Where it works
Pale sky blue, soft green and a thin red horizon with kites on long strings, for a bedroom, hallway or child's room at 16×24 in natural wood. It pairs well with Hibiya and Soto-Sakurada from Yamashita-chō, another New Year view with a kite.
Style, size & framing detail
- Style
- Ukiyo-e painting
- Era
- 19th century (1857)
- Orientation
- Portrait
- Palette
- cornflower blue
- Mood
- classic
- Rooms
- bedroom, hallway or entryway, kids room, 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. Printed edge to edge: a slim black or natural wood frame right to the image, or let the canvas wrap do the framing. Also available gallery-wrapped on canvas, ready to hang with no frame.
Pairing. Pairs as a set of three with other famous painting prints (10% off three or more).
Details & materials
Shipping & returns
Is this the whole painting, or a crop?
Is Kasumigaseki in the public domain?
What is it printed on?
When was Kasumigaseki painted, and in what medium?
What size works above a sofa or bed?
About this design
The Madten promise
An exhibition poster
The same artwork as a gallery exhibition poster — title, artist & date typeset beneath the image on a soft ground.
A fine-art print
The same artwork as a clean fine-art print — the image shown large with a minimal caption.
