Samezu Beach at Ōmori c. 1850

Utagawa Hiroshige created "Samezu Beach at Ōmori," a woodblock print, during a time when Japan's relationship with the world was changing. This image captures a landscape, but it also subtly reflects the societal shifts of 19th-century Japan. We see people in boats, a quiet observation of everyday life. But think about who gets represented in art and who doesn't. Whose stories are told, and whose are left out? The people on the margins, the working class, they often remain unseen in the grand narratives of history. Hiroshige was a master of color and composition, but he was also, in a way, documenting the world around him. These prints were not just decorative, they were a means of communicating the culture and values of the time. Let this print remind us to look beneath the surface and consider the untold stories within.