Artwork
東海道五十三次之内 庄野 白雨|Sudden Shower in Shōno
東海道五十三次之内 庄野 白雨|Sudden Shower in Shōno is an ink print by the Romanticist artist Utagawa Hiroshige. It dates from 1834 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Overview
This woodblock print, Sudden Shower in Shōno, is part of Utagawa Hiroshige's series The Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō, created around 1834. It depicts a scene at Shōno station during Japan's Edo period.
Subject & Meaning
The print captures travelers seeking shelter as a heavy rainstorm passes through Shōno. Five figures climb a steep, muddy slope, their straw hats and umbrellas saturated, amidst dark, heavy clouds.
Technique & Style
Hiroshige employed quick brushstrokes to convey the rain and movement, blending the travelers' clothes into the gray background. The artist's use of line and texture creates a sense of atmosphere and immersion in the storm.
Context
As a prominent ukiyo-e artist, Hiroshige shifted the genre's focus from urban entertainment to landscapes, depicting scenes along the Tōkaidō road.
Artist & collection
Artist
Utagawa Hiroshige (歌川 広重) or Andō Hiroshige (安藤 広重), born Andō Tokutarō (安藤 徳太郎; 1797 – 12 October 1858), was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist, considered the last great master of that tradition.
東海道五十三次之内 庄野 白雨|Shower at Shōno
東海道五十三次・庄野 白雨|Sudden Shower at Shōno, from the series Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō
Shōno Hakuu|東海道五十三次之内 庄野 白雨|White Rain at Shōno
新柳橋の白雨|Shower at the New Yanagi Bridge
東海道五十三次之内 蒲原 夜の雪|Evening Snow
名所江戶百景 大はしあたけの夕立|Sudden Shower over Shin-Ōhashi Bridge and Atake (Ōhashi Atake no yūdachi), from the series One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (Meisho Edo hyakkei)