100 Views of Edo # 86 Deluxe 1st Edition by Ando Hiroshige

Additional Pictures:



Artist: Ando Utagawa Hiroshige (1787-1858)

Woodblock Print Title: Naitô Shinjuku, Yotsuya (Yotsuya Naitô Shinjuku), from the series One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (Meisho Edo hyakkei)

1st Publication: November 1857

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

Date of this edition: November 1857, 1st Edition

Publisher: Uoya Eikichi

Condition: Trimmed to the margin in the upper and lower section of the print. Partially trimmed on the right and left side affecting the seal. Small scratch near the foot of the horse. Exceptional colors and impression.

Notes: Very rare 1st edition of this print. Deluxe edition with Mica in the ground floor area. Usually, this technique was reserved for good customer or prestigious people, as the technology was fairly new, expensive and difficult to master.

More about this print: Why would the artist choose such an odd vantage point? The lowness of the subject matter, apart from the hind view, is important in considering this print in context; it is an appropriate expression of the place: Naitō Shinjuku, near Yotsuya Gate, the western entrance to Edo.

Founded in 1698, this quarter was intended from the start as a semiofficial center of prostitution and the first stop along Kōshū Highway out of Edo. The prostitutes at this down-to-earth settlement were described as "flowers blooming in the horse droppings of Yotsuya." Hiroshige pays close attention to the placement of the objects on the ground, from the straw-sandaled legs of the two horses and their groom to the five separate balls of manure.

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.