Kumagae Jiro Naozane bij de zee 1846

Utagawa Hiroshige made this woodblock print, ‘Kumagae Jiro Naozane at the sea,’ in Japan, though we don’t know exactly when. The image depicts the warrior Kumagae Jiro Naozane, in full armor, standing next to his horse. The print is from the series "One Hundred Poems from Ogura by One Hundred Poets," which was part of a larger cultural and commercial phenomenon centered on poetry. The art market in Japan during Hiroshige's time catered to a middle-class audience eager for affordable art that often referenced classical literature and history. Publishers, artists, and even poets collaborated in this system. Prints like this one weren't just aesthetic objects; they were commodities embedded in a network of social relations and economic exchange. Understanding this print requires research into the literary and social contexts of 19th-century Japan, including its publishing industry. That way, we understand art as contingent on social and institutional conditions.