Towboats Along the Yotsugi-dōri Canal

Utagawa Hiroshige

1857 · 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

Towboats Along the Yotsugi-dōri Canal

"Five Pines" and the Onagi Canal

In the Akiba Shrine at Ukeji

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: 1857
Medium: Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Original size: approx. 36 × 24 cm (ōban)
Collection: National Diet Library, Tokyo (impression pid 1303237; many other impressions exist)
Movement: Ukiyo-e
Series: One Hundred Famous Views of Edo

A narrow canal sweeps toward us in a long S-curve between bright yellow towpaths, and on the banks men lean into ropes to pull boats upstream. The flat fields on either side are dotted with pines, and a blue mountain stands on the horizon above a band of red. The print is number thirty-three in One Hundred Famous Views of Edo, published by Uoya Eikichi, with a censor's seal of the second month of 1857. The Yotsugi-dōri canal was an irrigation channel east of Edo, and passengers were hauled along it in small boats. The curving channel gives the design a deep recession from foreground to horizon; 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 sweep of yellow and blue through soft green fields, for a hallway, office or narrow wall at 16×24 in natural wood. It pairs with The Yanagishima for two quiet waterways.

Style, size & framing detail

Style: Exhibition poster of a Ukiyo-e painting
Era: 19th century (1857)
Orientation: Portrait
Palette: cornflower blue, cream & beige
Mood: calm
Rooms: hallway or entryway, home office, 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

• Exhibition poster — original, drawn in-house • Heavyweight matte fine-art paper, giclée printed at 300 DPI • Sizes: 12×18, 16×24, 24×36 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 exhibition-poster edition sets the complete image above typography designed in-house.

Is Towboats Along the Yotsugi-dōri Canal 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, 16×24 and 24×36 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 Towboats Along the Yotsugi-dōri Canal painted, and in what medium?

Towboats Along the Yotsugi-dōri Canal dates from 1857 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, 24×36 is the size that reads as one statement piece; 16×24 suits a narrower wall or a pair. For Towboats Along the Yotsugi-dōri Canal we'd choose 16×24.

About this design

A museum-exhibition poster of Hiroshige's Towboats Along the Yotsugi-dōri Canal — boats hauled along a canal between yellow banks at dusk — the whole woodblock print shown uncropped beneath gallery typography. Plate 33 of One Hundred Famous Views of Edo, styled as a blockbuster exhibition print. A gallery-style exhibition poster: a celebrated public-domain artwork shown whole and uncropped beneath original exhibition typography set in-house — 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 Exhibition Posters Collection. — — — Printed to order and shipped by our production partner, Gelato.

Buy with confidence

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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