Mitsuke 1906

Utagawa Hiroshige I made this woodblock print, Mitsuke, sometime before his death in 1858. The print is made by carving a design into a block of wood, inking its surface, and pressing paper against it. This process was repeated for each color, building up the final image. Here, Hiroshige uses the technique to evoke the qualities of water: its texture, its weight, and its ability to reflect light. Note the figures on the shoreline. They are likely porters, transporting goods and people along the Tōkaidō road, which connected Kyoto to Edo – modern-day Tokyo. Woodblock prints like these were commercial objects, made possible by a division of labor between designer, carver, printer, and publisher. Hiroshige’s atmospheric landscapes were produced for mass consumption, a far cry from the traditional idea of the solitary artist. These prints remind us that art is always entangled with materials, modes of production, and social context. And that these factors contribute to the work's broader cultural meaning.