Shinano Province, Moon Reflected in the Sarashina Paddy-fields, Mount Kyōdai (Shinano, Sarashina tagoto no tsuki, Kyōdaisan), from the series Famous Places in the Sixty-odd Provinces [of Japan] ([Dai Nihon] RokujÅ«yoshÅ« meisho zue) Possibly 1853 - 1858

Editor: This woodblock print is by Utagawa Hiroshige, titled "Shinano Province, Moon Reflected in the Sarashina Paddy-fields, Mount Kyōdai." The reflective quality of the water gives the print such a serene feeling. What social or cultural elements do you think are present in this work? Curator: This print engages with the historical and societal relationship between humans and the land, doesn't it? Note how the terraced rice paddies dominate the foreground, indicating a human imprint on the landscape, literally shaping the mountain. What does that say about the relationship to the land? Editor: It’s a relationship of dependence and, in a way, of control, isn't it? We are at once transforming and being sustained by nature. Curator: Exactly! And consider the moon, a symbol of enlightenment, overlooking this scene of agricultural labor. The print seems to be asking us to consider labor's relationship to spirituality. Editor: I hadn’t thought about it that way! It does make you consider the different aspects of human existence, all at once.