33 Utagawa Hiroshige III 1842 – 1894 Collection of 3 prints from the series Products of Greater Japan (Dai Nippon Bussan Zue)

Japan, August 1877 (Meiji 10)

This attractive lot offers a collection of three highly interesting documentary sheets by Utagawa Hiroshige III, a pupil of the celebrated landscape master. All prints originate from the extensive series "Products of Greater Japan" (Dai Nippon Bussan Zue), issued in August 1877 to coincide with the opening of Japan's first National Industrial Exposition held in Tokyo's Ueno Park. The series aimed to document and proudly celebrate traditional regional crafts, agriculture, and industries across the Japanese provinces.

• The first sheet transports the viewer to Suruga Province, illustrating the arduous process of processing tree trunks and preparing a large charcoal kiln with almost didactic precision.
• The second print, also from Suruga, depicts a bustling workshop where local craftsmen manufacture intriguing bamboo baskets and insect cages to sell to travelers along the Tōkaidō road (this sheet features a visible vertical centerfold).
• The third design from Omi Province (present-day Shiga Prefecture) shows the harvesting of the Asiatic dayflower (tsuyukusa) used to extract valuable blue juice for aobanagami blue-stained paper. This exact traditional organic dye was heavily utilized by ukiyo-e artists before being replaced by the more chemically stable, imported Prussian blue. The text within the unrolled scrolls at the top of the images provides detailed explanations of these local productions. During the rapidly modernizing Meiji era, these prints provided the public with a crucial visual record of their country's traditional wealth.