Utagawa Hiroshige

1797-1858

Tokaido Road: No. 2, Shinagawa
(Tokaido: Ni, Shinagawa)

rare, unsigned, circa 1850s

mameban yoko-e 3 1/2 by 3 7/8 in., 8.8 by 9.7 cm

This charming mameban ('bean print') is a miniaturized version of Hiroshige's view of Shinagawa from the chuban (half a standard-sized oban print, or approximately 7.5 by 10 in.) series, The Tokaido Road, Fifty-Three Stations (Tokaido- Gojusan tsugi no uchi) published by Tsutaya Kichizo (Koeido) in the 1850s. While the dimunitive size necessitated a simplification of some details, the primary elements of the design compare closely, including the dark boats moored in the harbor, a teahouse with lanterns in the lower right foreground, and two pine trees jutting into the composition from the left. The additional framing provided by the red stylized clouds at the top and bottom along with a blue decorative border are borrowed from another view of the same location, Eight Views of Hills and the Armor-hanging Pine at Oi in Shinagawa (Shinagawa Oi Hakkeizaka Yoroikake matsu), from the oban (approximately 15 by 10 in.) series, Famous Hills in the Eastern Capital (Toto meisho saka-zukushi no uchi) published by Yamadaya Shojiro in circa 1842.

References:
The British Museum, Hiroshige, Shinagawa Oi Makkei-zaka Yoroikaka-matsu, ca. 1842, no. 1934,1083,0.26 (similar stylized clouds and border)
The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Hiroshige, No. 2 - Shinagawa: Yatsuyama, ca. 1850-51, accession no. 11.26163 (similar composition)

(inv. no. 10-5390)

price: $400