Three men trudge through the deep snow in a seaside village. The poetic scene recalls Utagawa Hiroshige’s famous ukiyo-e print of Kanbara, blanketed in snow at night, from his The Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido. British painter Charles William Bartlett embarked on this Shin-Hanga-style print after meeting with the publisher Watanabe Shozaburo during a visit to Tokyo. Shin-Hanga was the term Watanabe had coined for prints that carried on the ukiyo-e traditions of the Edo Period (1603-1868) in modern times.
Yokohama’s Negishi district boasted rich fishing grounds at the time, so the merchants in the foreground may be carrying off freshly caught seafood. It looks difficult for them to walk because their feet are buried in deep snow, which is rare in Yokohama. The print shows us that Bartlett was not only interested in ukiyo-e-style composition and colors, but also in the everyday lives of the people he met during his travels.
(UCHIYAMA Junko)
Three men trudge through the deep snow in a seaside village. The poetic scene recalls Utagawa Hiroshige’s famous ukiyo-e print of Kanbara, blanketed in snow at night, from his The Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido. British painter Charles William Bartlett embarked on this Shin-Hanga-style print after meeting with the publisher Watanabe Shozaburo during a visit to Tokyo. Shin-Hanga was the term Watanabe had coined for prints that carried on the ukiyo-e traditions of the Edo Period (1603-1868) in modern times.
Yokohama’s Negishi district boasted rich fishing grounds at the time, so the merchants in the foreground may be carrying off freshly caught seafood. It looks difficult for them to walk because their feet are buried in deep snow, which is rare in Yokohama. The print shows us that Bartlett was not only interested in ukiyo-e-style composition and colors, but also in the everyday lives of the people he met during his travels.
(UCHIYAMA Junko)