Hodogaya 1906

"Hodogaya" was made by Utagawa Hiroshige, but there's no date recorded for it, and was made as a woodblock print. There’s something about the layering of the colors that feels so good, it’s as though Hiroshige is really embracing the process of making, letting each stage speak. Look at the way the buildings are rendered, these rectangular shapes and diagonal lines are softened by the overall hue, creating a hazy atmosphere in the space. I find the small figures, with their gentle gradations of blue, so beautiful. It reminds me a bit of the early works of Agnes Martin, where she also used a restrained palette to create ethereal, meditative spaces. Ultimately, this piece embodies art's ability to capture a moment, and the way that these moments can feel both intensely specific and universally relatable, all at the same time.