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Sudden Shower over Shin-Ōhashi Bridge and Atake
Utagawa Hiroshige · Naïve, folk & other
- Artist
- Utagawa Hiroshige (1797–1858)
- Date
- 1857
- Dimensions
- 36.3 x 24.3 cm
- Medium
- Colour woodblock print
- Location
- In various collections
This print from Hiroshige’s series One Hundred Famous Views of Edo shows people caught in a sudden summer downpour as they hurry across a wooden bridge over the Sumida River in Edo, today’s Tokyo.
A closer look
The rain is drawn as hundreds of fine, dark lines falling at slightly different angles, an innovative way of showing weather in print. On the bridge, figures huddle under umbrellas and straw raincoats, while a lone raftsman poles his logs along the misty river. The bridge cuts diagonally across the tall, narrow sheet, and the far bank dissolves in grey. The composition’s daring viewpoint and atmosphere fascinated Western artists when Japanese prints reached Europe.
