Pine of Success and Oumayagashi, Asakusa River - Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858) - Japan - Late Edo period

Original woodblock print - Utagawa Hiroshige (Ando) (1797-1858)

Pine of Success and Oumayagashi, Asakusa River

This print is from the series Meisho Edo Hyakkei (名所江戸百景), known in English as One Hundred Famous Views of Edo, by Utagawa Hiroshige (歌川広重), published between 1856 and 1858.
It is specifically print No. 61 (from the summer section): Asakusagawa Shubi-no-matsu Onmayagashi (浅草川首尾の松御厩河岸), or “The Pine of Success and Onmayagashi on the Asakusa River.”

The artwork depicts an atmospheric night scene along the Sumida River (historically referred to here as the Asakusa River) beneath a star-filled sky. In the foreground, a covered pleasure boat (yanebune) rests beside a structure of bound bamboo poles, while small ferries carry passenger silhouettes across the deep blue waters. Hiroshige masterfully uses cropped foreground elements—the bamboo and bare branches—to create dramatic spatial depth.
​Condition Report:
​Margins: Excellent and complete. The print retains its full original margins (untrimmed). Censor seals (Aratame), date seal (1857), and the publisher’s mark (Uoya Eikichi) are all clearly visible.
​Paper: Good antique condition. Exhibits natural surface waviness and light creasing consistent with age and delicate 19th-century washi paper. Free of tears, holes, or restoration.
​Colors: Strong blue bokashi (color gradients) on the water and deep dark tones in the night sky. The organic red pigments in the cartouches have faded over time due to light exposure—a classic characteristic of authentic 19th-century vegetable-based dyes (benibana).
​Reverse: Authentic ink bleed-through is clearly visible on the back, confirming a genuine hand-printed impression.