12 Utagawa Hiroshige 1797 – 1858 Evening Bell at Ueno

Japan, c. late 1830s – early 1840s (pre-1842)

from the series Eight Views of Famous Places in Edo (Meisho Edo hakkei)

This beautiful print was designed by the celebrated landscape master Utagawa Hiroshige, who here showcases his rarer talent for combining beauty portraits (bijinga) with famous topographical views (meisho-e). It belongs to the series Eight Views of Famous Places in Edo (Meisho Edo hakkei), with this specific design titled Evening Bell at Ueno (Ueno no banshō) – a reference to a classical poetic motif. The foreground features an elegant woman wearing high geta sandals, pausing near a weeping willow to look over her shoulder. She wears a striking kimono with an abstract geometric pattern and a light blue lining. The background depicts the serene waters of Shinobazu Pond in Ueno, with the distant island of the Benten Shrine and the silhouette of the temple complex from which the evening bell would toll. The upper left corner holds the red series cartouche and a square cartouche with the print title and an accompanying poem. The lower left bears Hiroshige's signature, the square seal of the publisher Jōshūya Kinzō (Jōkin), and a round kiwame censor seal, firmly dating the print to before the Tenpō reforms of 1842.