Hiroshige. One Hundred Famous Views of Edo

Utagawa Hiroshige (1797–1858) was one of the last great artists in the ukiyo-e tradition. Translating as “pictures of the floating world,” ukiyo-e was a woodblock  print genre of art that flourished in Japan between the 17th and 19th  centuries. Ukiyo-e captured fleeting moments - whether they be the  bright lights and attractions of Edo, or spectacular natural landscapes. In particular ukiyo-e  came to describe the hedonistic pleasures of cosmopolitan life for an  emerging merchant class. Many of Hiroshige’s images depict the  entertainments of kabuki theatre, courtesans, and the geishas of the pleasure districts: the temporary, floating, night-time world of what would become Tokyo..