Hiroshige: artist of the open road by Alfred Haft is a big and beautiful book of works by the celebrated Japanese artist Utagawa Hiroshige. Produced by the British Museum to accompany its comprehensive exhibition of the same title, this is a soothing stroll through the landscapes of Edo Japan.
Over a career spanning four decades, the much-loved Hiroshige (1797–1858) produced thousands of prints and hundreds of paintings, many commissioned by the samurai elite, along with numerous illustrated books; he also designed hundreds of hand-held fans that were available to all, taking his designs to the street.
Such is Hiroshige’s enduring appeal that some of his landscape prints, such as Kanbara – Evening Snow, Sudden Shower over Ōhashi and Plum Garden at Kameido seem instantly familiar. Even so, the vast majority of his output is less well-known, especially to audiences outside Japan. This gives the comprehensive exhibition and this delightful book a special role in helping us appreciate the depth and scope of Hiroshige’s work.
Written by Dr Alfred Haft, Project Curator for Japanese Collections at the British Museum and Lead Curator of the Hiroshige exhibition, this is a great addition to your art book collection. It explores key works from Hiroshige’s celebrated landscape series, showcasing both the natural beauty of the rural scenes and the pleasures of urban life.
The cover shows Evening View of the Eight Scenic Spots of Kanazawa in Musashi Province, taken from an 1857 colour-woodblock triptych that is part of the Alan Medaugh Collection. The book is beautifully produced, with design by Kathrin Jacobsen and an essay on Plum Garden at Kameido written by Capucine Korenberg, a senior scientist at the British Museum.
This is the British Museum’s first exhibition of Hiroshige, whose last major show in London was some 25 years ago. The works, on the walls and in the book, offer a thoughtful and affectionate portrait of a country on the edge of social, political and cultural change.
Born into a samurai family during an unsettled time in Japanese history, Hiroshige became one of the country’s most talented and popular artists. His artistic envisioning and perceptive gaze offered a reassuring and nostalgic view of Japanese life, even at the time it was being produced. That his work was appreciated by the elites as well as the masses shows his ability to connect with the hopes and dreams of the people. There is a subtle lyricism in these works that talks to the open road, to chance meetings and intimate encounters, and to a bond – largely lost today – between people and the natural world.
From fashionable figures and vibrant city views to these remote landscapes and bird-and-flower prints, this is a portrait of Japan as it was and an insight into the country as Hiroshige saw it, where the reality met his artistic intellect and emotion.
As Japan became a more open society, so his acclaim spread to art-lovers across the globe. Most famous for his iconic landscapes, he was also a great observer of nature and applied new techniques to his colour and brushwork, such that his works continue to influence and inspire artists today. The Sparrows and Snow-Covered Bamboo prints are just divine, and there’s a wonderfully fairy-tale quality to Rabbits and Horsetail Beneath the Moon shown on another page.
There is an almost insouciant air to his works, a confidence that allows him to leave space for reflection and contemplation. Here is an artist who knew exactly what he wanted to say and he often epitomises a ‘less is more’ sentiment. Evening Snow at Kanbara uses tiny touches of colour against a monochrome wintry landscape to highlight the figures in the snow.
The exhibition and book feature key pieces from various private and public collections, and many from the important Medaugh Collection, alongside works from the British Museum’s own vast holdings of Japanese art.
This lavishly illustrated book really is a superb celebration of the lasting legacy of Utagawa Hiroshige. The final section, entitled Onwards from Hiroshige, explores that legacy with works by many artists including Hasui Kawase (widely regarded as Hiroshige’s main successor in the modern period), James Abbott McNeill Whistler, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Frank Morley Fletcher.
On page 194 there’s also an especially moving work by Tetsuya Noda, a 2002 view of the Thames from the balcony of the Tate Modern. Tetsuya “was immediately struck by the similarity between that drizzly view and Hiroshige’s celebrated print Sudden Shower over Ōhashi and Atake. As if for the first time, Noda felt the power of Hiroshige’s artistic imagination…”
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And therein lies the power of this beautiful book as it reveals Hiroshige’s vast artistic imagination and astonishing technical skill. This really is a book you’ll want to read again and again. Just superb!
Hiroshige: artist of the open road, Alfred Haft
Publisher: British Museum Press
ISBN: 9780714137001
Number of pages: 224
Format: Hardback
Publication date: 1 May 2025
Price: £40 (available from the British Museum, in the shop and online, for the special museum price of £30)
The exhibition Hiroshige: artist of the open road is at The British Museum until 7 September 2025.
