Nihonbashi: Morning View
1833–34 · Woodblock print; ink and colour on paper · The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
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This print
About this work
- Artist
- Utagawa Hiroshige (1797–1858)
- Year
- 1833–34
- Medium
- Woodblock print; ink and colour on paper
- Original size
- 24.1 × 35.2 cm
- Collection
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (impression JP471; many other impressions exist)
- Movement
- Ukiyo-e
- Series
- Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō
At dawn the wooden gates of the bridge stand open and a daimyo's procession comes over the arched Nihonbashi, led by two tall spears topped with feather plumes and porters carrying red lacquered boxes. In the foreground fishmongers with shoulder poles and baskets crowd toward the market, and a dog trots off at the right, under a peach morning sky banded with blue. This is the opening print of Hiroshige's Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō, published by Hōeidō (Takenouchi Magohachi) in 1833–34. Nihonbashi in Edo was the official starting point of the Tōkaidō, the highway along the Pacific coast to Kyoto, and the city's fish market lay along the river beside it; impressions vary in colour and condition.
This exhibition-poster edition shows the whole work beneath original typography set in-house. The original is in the public domain.
Where it works
A peach dawn sky over a pale bridge and a crowd in red, blue and brown, for an entrance hall, study or kitchen at 16×24 in natural wood. It pairs with Kyoto: The Great Bridge at Sanjō as the first and last prints of the journey.
Style, size & framing detail
- Style
- Exhibition poster of a Ukiyo-e painting
- Era
- 19th century (1833–34)
- Orientation
- Portrait
- Palette
- cornflower blue, cream & beige
- Mood
- classic
- Rooms
- kitchen, study or library, living room, dining room, dorm room
- Good gift for
- housewarming, travelers, art lovers
Size. We'd hang this one at 16×24. Prints at 12×18, 16×24, 24×36 in — 12×18 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 16×24 above a desk, console or in a hallway; 24×36 as the statement piece above a sofa or bed.
Framing. Exhibition posters sit best in a slim black frame with no mat — the typeset margin is the mat.
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 Nihonbashi: Morning View in the public domain?
What is it printed on?
When was Nihonbashi: Morning View painted, and in what medium?
What size works above a sofa or bed?
About this design
The Madten promise
A fine-art print
The same artwork as a clean fine-art print — the image shown large with a minimal caption.
