Winter

Catalog note / 解説

This elegantly composed <i>uchiwa-e</i>, or rigid fan print, design by Hiroshige has survived in good condition despite having been salvaged, as the ribmarks on its surface indicate, from a made-up fan. It consists of a close-up view of a flower arrangement in front of a painting mounted as a hanging scroll such as might be found in the 'tokonoma' or display alcove of a Japanese room. In this case the chill of winter is portrayed by a snowy view of the 'torii' gate of the Mimeguri Shrine seen across the reaches of the Sumida river in Edo (modern Tokyo). The starkness of the image is relieved by the curving form of the narcissus on the right and the deep red of the camellia on the left. The…