Report on the talk ‘On the Road with Hiroshige: A Look at the Artist’s Landscape and Nature Prints’

For the Sainsbury Institute’s July Third Thursday Lecture, we were joined by Dr Alfred Haft, the JTI Project Curator of Japanese Collections at the British Museum and lead curator of the museum’s current exhibition, Hiroshige: artist of the open road (1st May–7th September 2025). Alfred’s presentation took us on the road with Utagawa Hiroshige (1797–1858) from Norwich Cathedral to the streets of Edo-period Japan (1615-1868) with beautiful images and thoughtful discussion into the artist’s life and work.

The talk was structured around the exhibition’s five sections: Hiroshige’s early career, his views of landscapes and famous places, nature prints, fan prints, and his lasting influence on artists in Japan, Europe and the US. Throughout, Alfred provided rich insight into the artistic traditions and societal context of Hiroshige’s era, inviting reflection on the exhibition’s central question: “What did Hiroshige know of the world, and how might this knowledge have informed the world he created in his art?“

Born into a low-ranking samurai family in Edo (present-day Tokyo), Hiroshige was orphaned in 1809 and inherited his father’s position as a fire warden. Perhaps lacking the status or financial means to study with the elite Kano painting school, Hiroshige crossed social boundaries to enter the world of ukiyo-e—the “floating world” of theatre and pleasure districts. He began with actor and beauty prints, but by the 1830s, he discovered his true calling in landscapes.

The final decades of the Edo period were marked by famine, social crisis and the increasing threat of foreign encroachment. Against such turmoil, Hiroshige’s tranquil landscapes and scenes of nature seem to have resonated with audiences, helping him stand out against the striking warrior and actor prints of his contemporaries.

The talk detailed how Hiroshige’s breakthrough work, The Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō (1833–35), captured the cultural significance of Japan’s most famous highway while reflecting the period’s growing interest in domestic travel. Alfred demonstrated Hiroshige’s sophisticated approach to source material, showing how he synthesised his own travel experiences with guidebooks, literary travelogues, and popular board games such as Tōkaidō sugoroku, which had already established visual conventions for representing the road in popular imagination.

Following the devastating 1855 earthquake that struck Edo, Hiroshige embarked on his final major series, One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (1856–58). This ambitious project covered every neighbourhood in his native city with fresh energy, including areas that were not especially famous. Begun shortly after the earthquake and depicting newly rebuilt districts as thriving once again, Hiroshige and the publisher perhaps wished to encourage their fellow citizens with an optimistic vision of the city fully recovered and renewed.

Alongside landscapes, Hiroshige made significant contributions to the genre of bird-and-flower prints, which flourished from the 1830s onwards. Alfred highlighted how these nature prints showcased some of Hiroshige’s most delicate designs, and were the result of close collaboration between artist, publisher, block cutter and printer. For these works, Hiroshige may have drawn inspiration from illustrated encyclopaedias, painting manuals featuring Chinese-style and Maruyama-Shijō techniques, and perhaps personal experiences of bird-and-flower teahouses, where urban residents could admire exotic and domestic birds.

Perhaps lesser known of Hiroshige’s works are his uchiwa-e (fan prints). These ephemeral works, mounted on bamboo frames and typically discarded after seasonal use, demonstrate the deep connection between art and daily life during the Edo period. Though few examples of each design survive, Hiroshige is thought to have produced around 600 designs, far more than any other artist. The subjects ranged from rustic landscapes and sushi arrangements to seasonal festivals and intimate scenes of labour. As Alfred suggests, perhaps Hiroshige may have found appeal in the idea of alleviating people’s discomfort in the oppressive heat with well-designed fans.

For the final part of the talk, Alfred traced Hiroshige’s enduring legacy to the present day, in particular his influence on European and American artists, including Vincent van Gogh, who copied Hiroshige’s prints in oil, and James Abbott McNeill Whistler. Alfred concluded with the exhibition’s final work: Emily Allchurch’s Spring Festival (after Hiroshige) (2020), a contemporary photographic reimagining of Hiroshige’s Surugadai and Suidōbashi. Blending traditional motifs with modern elements, the work places Edo in dialogue with present-day Tokyo.

Throughout his presentation, Alfred emphasised Hiroshige’s remarkable empathy for people across all social strata and his acute sensitivity to natural phenomena. His calm vision, which sustained his contemporaries through turbulent times, continues to speak to us today and offers a continuous source of inspiration.  

The exhibition has been made possible through the gift of 35 prints from the collection of Alan Medaugh to the American Friends of the British Museum and a further 82 loans, with thanks to all additional lenders and supporters. The exhibition catalogue, written by Dr Alfred Haft, is available in-store at the British Museum or online here.

Emily Williams
Project Curator: Hiroshige exhibition, British Museum