Tile Kilns and Hashiba Ferry, Sumida River (Sumidagawa Hashiba no Watashi Kawaragawa), No. 37 from One Hundred Famous Views of Edo

Artist:Utagawa Hiroshige

Medium: Woodblock print

Geograhical Locations:

• Japan

Dates:4th month of 1857

Dimensions: Sheet: 14 1/4 x 9 7/16 in. (36.2 x 23.9 cm) Image: 13 3/8 x 9 in. (33.9 x 22.9 cm)

Collections:

• Asian Art

Exhibitions:

• Curator's Choice: Hiroshige, One Hundred Famous Views of Edo
• Hiroshige’s 100 Famous Views of Edo (feat. Takashi Murakami)

Accession Number: 30.1478.37

Image: 30.1478.37_PS20.jpg,

Catalogue Description:
A view of the yard of one of the tile-makers of the Imado area. Note the rounded shapes of the kilns; between the kilns are the pine needles used to fire them. The kilns were also used for making "imadoyaki," small ceramic figurines for offerings at nearby shrines. There are cherry trees in the distance to the right (see print 35 of the series), and on the Sumida River are two ferryboats around the location of the modern Shirahige Bridge. The cluster of yellow huts, just right of center, is the ferry landing at Mukojima. The white and gray birds in the foreground are the "capital birds," or "miyakodori," which even today are seen in this area. Their fame dates back to the tenth century when verses were composed about them in "Tales of Ise."

Brooklyn Museum