From the series 'Sakana zukushi' 魚づくし (A Collection of Every Type of Fish) - Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858) - Japan - Late Edo period

Album with 7 woodblock prints - Published by Daikokuya - Paper - Fish - Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858) - From the series 'Sakana zukushi' 魚づくし (A Collection of Every Type of Fish) - Japan -late edo period

See: http: //nrifs. fra. affrc. go. jp/book/D_archives/A281_D1. html

Hiroshige's works titled "Uozukushi" are known for 40 series in 4 series, but generally there are 10 works each in the Eijudo edition published in the early Tenpo era and the Yamasho(山庄版) edition published in the late Tenpo era.
Both the Eijudo version and the Yamashou version are works in which pictures of various seafood are accompanied by Kyoka poems, and sometimes a branch of a plant is added. Many of his paintings depict fish as ingredients rather than swimming, and while the composition is simple, the vivid color contrasts give a beautiful impression of the season and freshness of the fish. The content of the kyōka is related to the depicted motif, and it is a work that can be enjoyed like solving a mystery.

When you open the cover, you can see the calligraphy of the Meiji-era army general Maresuke Nogi, titled "Ohonutsukushimi no Nami, Meiji 44, Maretendai". This expresses how the emperor's mercy spreads like waves throughout the country, and is a phrase that appears in the kana preface of the Kokin Wakashu.

Hiroshige’s work came to have a marked influence on Western painting towards the close of the 19th century as a part of the trend in Japonism.
Western artists closely studied Hiroshige’s compositions, and some, such as van Gogh, painted copies of Hiroshige’s prints.
This work is Hiroshige’s art work around the age of 59.
It is a work that seems to be Hiroshige, depicting the entire landscape.