View of Boats Entering the Harbor at Tsukudajima c. 1832 - 1838

Utagawa Hiroshige created this woodblock print, “View of Boats Entering the Harbor at Tsukudajima,” as part of a series of landscape prints that were popular in Japan. Hiroshige’s images of boats draw on a long tradition of maritime painting in Japan. Woodblock prints like this one were a relatively inexpensive art form and as such catered to the tastes of a broad public. In this print, the sails, masts, and hulls of the boats create an intricate pattern. But, the print does more than merely depict boats, it captures the everyday life of Edo, present-day Tokyo. Hiroshige worked at a time when Japan was opening up to the West after a long period of self-imposed isolation. Prints like this one were popular souvenirs for visitors and reflect an increasing interest in landscape as a subject for art. To fully understand it, we can research the social and economic conditions of Edo-period Japan, the history of printmaking, and the rise of landscape as a popular genre. This sort of historical knowledge can help us better understand the cultural significance of works like this one.