Onverwachte regenbui op de grote brug te Atake 1857 - 1859

This is Utagawa Hiroshige's woodblock print, "Sudden Shower over Shin-Ōhashi bridge and Atake," thought to have been produced around the 1850s. Hiroshige, working in the Edo period, captures a fleeting moment of daily life. Look at the people caught in the downpour as they traverse the bridge. Their postures, bent against the rain, speak to the vulnerability of the common person against nature's whims. Consider too, the lone figure on the river; is that person a fisherman, a ferryman or someone else? What is their place in the social hierarchy? Hiroshige’s print is part of a larger tradition of Japanese art that finds beauty and poignancy in the transient aspects of life. The woodblock medium itself mirrors this ephemerality. Each print is an impression, a moment captured and then disseminated, allowing us to reflect on shared humanity, the power of nature, and the diverse roles people played in old Edo society.