Utagawa Hiroshige
1797-1858 · Japanese (Edo/Tokyo) · Ukiyo-e / Edo Period
Known for: Master of atmospheric landscape prints - rain, snow, and moonlight rendered with poetic sensitivity
Hiroshige was a quiet fire warden who painted in his spare time before becoming a full-time artist. Unlike the flamboyant Hokusai, he was gentle, melancholic, and deeply attuned to weather and seasons.
His Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido and One Hundred Famous Views of Edo emphasized mood over spectacle. He produced 8,000+ prints and died during a cholera epidemic, composing a death poem about traveling as a ghost.
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