100 Views of Edo # 40 by Ando Hiroshige

Additional Pictures: Artist: Ando Utagawa Hiroshige (1787-1858)

Woodblock Print Title: Basho's Hermitage and Camellia Hill on the Kanda Aqueduct at Sekiguchi from the series One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (Meisho Edo hyakkei)

1st Publication: April 1857

Size: Vertical oban; 35.9 x 24.6 cm (14 1/8 x 9 11/16 in.)

Date of this edition: 1857

Publisher: Uoya Eikichi

Condition: Small stain in the left margin, else fine

Notes: The hermitage depicted on the hill to the right of the aqueduct in this view belonged to a nearby Zen Buddhist temple and was originally called the Ryūgean. In the late Edo period, it came to be known as "Bashō's Hermitage," after the famous haiku poet (1644–1694) who is said to have briefly lived in this area in the 1670s.

In the early eighteenth century, some disciples of Bashō established a memorial mound to him within the hermitage precinct. Later Bashō Hall, containing images of the poet and his major followers, was built nearby.

Pictures: Pictures are taken outdoor, in the shade, to reflect true colors, without any enhancements of any kind. The last picture is taken indoor, with a light behind the print, to reveal the exact paper grain, holes if any, or other possible flaws.