View of the Port of Uraga in Sagami Province

Catalog note / 解説

This print is an 'uchiwa-e' (rigid fan print) design by Hiroshige. It is one of a series of 'aizuri' or monochrome blue depictions of famous places in Sagami Province (Kanagawa Prefecture). This particular view shows the port of Uraga on the eastern coast of the Miura Peninsular. During the Edo period a shogunal commissioner presided over Uraga. He inspected and taxed all shipping entering Edo Bay. It was here that Commodore Perry and his American warships dropped anchor in July 1853. This precipitated the series of events that ended Japan's policy of national seclusion instituted by the Tokugawa shogunate in 1639. Hiroshige's depiction of Uraga was published less than two years after Perry…