About This Print
Representing Kanagawa station, across the bay from Yokohama, this is the fourth print in the series Calligraphy and Pictures for the Fifty-Three Stations of the Tōkaidō, consisting of fifty-three prints, plus an introductory sheet.
The inscription in the upper right reads:
Source: Yokohama Prints from Nineteenth-Century Japan, Yonemura, Smithsonian Institution, 1990, p. 125.
The title of Yoshimori’s print refers to the fifty-three stations along the Tokaido, the eastern highway linking Edo and Kyoto. The theme was made famous through the prints of Hiroshige I (1797-1858) and many of his contemporaries. Kanagawa, one of those stations, lay directly across the bay from Yokohama. From that vantage point, the prosperous town of Yokohama with its substantial Western-style buildings is illustrated in the distance.
Dominating the scene is the figure of a woman, portrayed with studied attention to details of light and shadow that reflect the artist’s awareness of Western wood engravings or other pictorial sources. Her image may in fact be derived from a figure in the foreground of an illustration of India published in the Illustrated London News (see below.) Combining elements of traditional Japanese art with an exceptionally successful reproduction of a Western artistic model, the print presents a striking if somewhat disconcerting visual effect.
Illustrated London News
The figure is also very madonna-like and Yoshimori may well have taken his inspiration from a number of reproductions of classical European works that made their way to Japan.
Simone Martini
The Annunciation detail c. 1245-1300
The Annunciation detail c. 1245-1300
Signatures and Seals on the Print
In addition to Yoshimori's signature and seal appearing in the bottom panel to the left of the figure, other signatures and seals appear in the two halves of the upper panel. I imagine they are the signatures of the calligrapher and another artist who created the inset to the left of the panel containing the calligraphy.
 前芳盛光斎寫生 Zen Yoshimori Kōsai shasei (Drawn from life by Kōsai, formerly Yoshimori), 1872 |  unidentified signature, possibly Kansui 觀水 and unidentified seal |  unidentified signature and seal in calligraphy panel |  unidentified seal in calligraphy panel reading (perhaps)卍 全 黒 |
Print Details
| IHL Catalog | #580 |
| Title or Description | Kanagawa in Musashi Province: Distant View of Yokohama Bushū Kanagawa, Yokohama enbō 武蔵 神奈川 横浜眺望 |
| Series | Calligraphy and Pictures for the Fifty-Three Stations of the Tōkaidō Shoga gojūsan eki 書画五拾三駅 [書画五十三次] |
| Artist | Utagawa Yoshimori (1830–1884) |
| Signature | Zen Yoshimori Kōsai shasei (Drawn from life by Kōsai, formerly Yoshimori) also see above for discussions of other signatures and seals on this print 前芳盛光斎寫生 |
| Seal | unread artist's seals |
| Publication Date |  |
| Publisher |  seal reading ぃ (Note: Yokohama Prints, referenced below, incorrectly lists the publisher of this print as Ōta-ya Takichi 太田屋 多吉.) |
| Impression | excellent |
| Colors | excellent |
| Condition | fair - backed, horizontal fold with separation at fold repaired from back; numerous worm tracks in margins repaired from back; several spots of foxing in image; soiling throughout |
| Genre | ukiyo-e; yokohama-e |
| Miscellaneous | |
| Format | vertical oban |
| H x W Paper | 13 7/8 x 9 1/2 in. (35.2 x 24.1 cm) |
| H x W Image | 13 1/8 x 8 3/4 in. (33.3 x 22.2 cm) |
| Literature | Yokohama Prints from Nineteenth-Century Japan, Yonemura, Smithsonian Institution, 1990, p. 125. Cat. No. 45 |
| Collections This Print | Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art S1998.90Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 11.41431; City of Yokohama "Yokohama Memory"; Hagi Uragami Museum U01196; National Diet Library 寄別7-7-1-4 |
4/12/2020
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