Ōiso: Tora's Rain
1833–34 · Woodblock print; ink and colour on paper · The Art Institute of Chicago
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About this work
- Artist
- Utagawa Hiroshige (1797–1858)
- Year
- 1833–34
- Medium
- Woodblock print; ink and colour on paper
- Original size
- 25.2 × 37 cm
- Collection
- The Art Institute of Chicago (impression 1925.3509; many other impressions exist)
- Movement
- Ukiyo-e
- Series
- Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō
Fine grey lines of rain slant across the whole sheet as travellers in straw raincoats lead a horse into a village of thatched houses, bent against the weather. Pines lean over the road, straw bundles stand in the wet field, and at the left a strip of pale sea shows beyond a fringe of trees. The print is number nine in the Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō, published by Hōeidō (Takenouchi Magohachi) in 1833–34. Ōiso, the eighth station, lies on the shore of Sagami Bay, and the title refers to the rain said to fall on the twenty-eighth day of the fifth month, remembered as the tears of Tora, a woman of Ōiso, for the warrior Soga Jūrō; 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
Soft grey rain over brown roofs and a strip of pale blue sea, for a bedroom, study or reading corner at 24×16 in black. It pairs with Tsuchiyama: Spring Rain for two rainy days on the Tōkaidō.
Style, size & framing detail
- Style
- Ukiyo-e painting
- Era
- 19th century (1833–34)
- Orientation
- Landscape
- Palette
- cornflower blue
- Mood
- calm
- Rooms
- bedroom, study or library, living room, dining room
- Good gift for
- housewarming, travelers, art lovers
Size. We'd hang this one at 24×16. Prints at 18×12, 24×16 in — 18×12 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 24×16 above a console or sideboard.
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 Ōiso: Tora's Rain in the public domain?
What is it printed on?
When was Ōiso: Tora's Rain 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.
