Hiroshige: Artist of the Open Road by Alfred Haft is a 2025 book by the British Museum published to accompany the exhibition at the British Museum from 1 May to 7 September 2025.
An excellent review of this exhibition and Hiroshige’s oeuvre was published by the FT Weekend 3 May/4 May 2025 newspaper titled Impressions of Pure Magic by En Liang Khong.
Utagawa Hiroshige (1797–1858) (real name Ando Tokutsaro) is known for his landscape prints of travel. His most famous series are
1. The Fifty-Three Stations of the Tōkaidō (1833–1834). It depicts the 53 post stations along the Tōkaidō road connecting Edo (old Tokyo) to Kyoto.
2. One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (1856–1858)
3. The Sixty-nine Stations of the Kisokaidō (with Keisai Eisen, c. 1835–1842). He co-produced this series with Eisen. It depicts stations along the inland Kisokaidō route between Edo and Kyoto. Compared to the Tōkaidō series, this route was less travelled , more mountainous and dramatic.
4. Famous Views of the Sixty-odd Provinces (1853–1856). This is a sweeping landscape series showing each province in Japan.
5. Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (c. 1852). This is Hiroshige’s response to Hokusai’s earlier iconic Fuji series. It shows Mt. Fuji from many locations and in varying conditions. It is considered more atmospheric and subtle than Hokusai’s bolder style.
LWH @ Tuesday, 22 July 2025