Hiroshige’s View of Yedo

Woodblock print of a snowy canal scene in Edo, with figures in traditional clothing standing on a dock as a small boat approaches through falling snow.

Hiroshige II, View of Yedo (Tokyo) from 36 Views of Yedo, nineteenth century, woodblock print, 15 1/2 x 11 1/4 in., Mead Art Museum.

Weather as a Central Character 

In Hiroshige II’s View of Yedo from the series 36 Views of Yedo, weather is more than a backdrop. It contributes to the daily life of Edo, the city now known as Tokyo. This nineteenth-century Japanese woodblock print, housed in the Mead Art Museum at Amherst College, captures a tranquil, snow-covered canal scene with a quiet elegance. The print reflects a moment suspended in time: snow falls steadily in soft white specks, blanketing rooftops and the water below. Human figures stand waiting at a dock; a boat glides gently toward them. Through Hiroshige II’s display of falling snow in this scene, he captures the Edo-era residents’ experience and relationship with winter weather. 

A Moment of Stillness 

This print is rendered in muted blue, gray, and white colors, creating a soft, hushed atmosphere of a snowy day. In the foreground, a cluster of figures dressed in patterned kimonos and traditional footwear stand beneath wide, pale umbrellas. Their postures suggest a moment of quiet pause and anticipation: one woman kneels gracefully, perhaps adjusting her kimono or preparing to step onto the boat; another stands upright, slightly turned as if scanning the water for the vessel’s approach; and a third figure, cloaked in a straw raincoat, stands still and grounded, evoking the steadiness of someone accustomed to the elements, perhaps a boatman or attendant. Together, their varied stances capture a fleeting interval of waiting, as the approaching boat’s oars disturb the canal’s calm, vivid blue surface. The right bank of the canal is lined with tall white storehouses, their sharply pitched rooftops forming a rhythmic pattern that mirrors the visual cadence of the falling snow. These structures lend a sense of order and permanence to a transient composition. Delicate calligraphic labels frame the image in red and blue, situating the viewer within the larger series and reminding us that this scene, though still, is part of a greater journey through place and season.

Artist and Technique 

Hiroshige II (1826–1869) was the adopted son and student of Utagawa Hiroshige, a master of the ukiyo-e woodblock tradition. Following his mentor’s footsteps, Hiroshige II inherited his name and his artistic mission: to capture the beauty of Japan’s landscapes and cityscapes with a blend of realism, atmosphere, and poetic sensitivity. His View of Yedo was created during the late Edo period, when Edo was not only the political center of the Tokugawa shogunate but also a thriving urban hub filled with cultural and commercial activity.1 Prints like this one served a dual purpose: they were decorative art objects often collected by Edo’s growing merchant class and functioned as visual souvenirs or “views” of iconic locales.

The technique used to make this print, traditional Japanese woodblock printing, involved carving an image into a wooden surface, applying ink, and pressing paper onto the block. Multiple blocks were required for multicolored images, each color printed from a separate carved piece. The precision needed to align the layers was immense. Techniques like bokashi, creating soft color gradients, added depth and atmosphere to prints like View of Yedo.2 In this work, bokashi is particularly effective in the smooth transitions of tone in the sky and snow, enhancing the sense of wintry stillness and drawing the viewer into the scene’s quiet immersion.

Living with the Weather

When thinking about weather in Hiroshige II’s time, this print highlights the Edo-period interest in fūkei-ga, or landscape pictures, which often emphasized seasonal shifts.3 Snow, in particular, was a favored subject, not only for its aesthetic appeal but also for its cultural symbolism. In Japanese literature and art, snow frequently represents purity, transience, and poetic beauty.4 Rather than being treated as an inconvenience, winter weather is portrayed as a source of visual and emotional richness. The figures in the scene do not struggle against the snow; they coexist with it. Their clothing, movements, and gestures suggest adaptation rather than resistance: the women wear layered, patterned kimonos suited for cold weather, and carry wide, pale umbrellas designed to shield them from falling snow without obstructing their vision. One figure kneels calmly on the dock, not rushing or bracing herself against the cold, but instead seems composed and prepared, as if winter is simply part of the day’s rhythm. The figure in the straw raincoat stands confidently and comfortably, suggesting familiarity with navigating snowy conditions. Altogether, their composed postures and practical attire reflect a quiet coexistence with the weather, rather than discomfort or struggle. Hiroshige II presents weather as a natural rhythm to be acknowledged, absorbed, and celebrated.

Moreover, the print invites us to think about the agency of weather itself. Snow is not merely a passive setting; it shapes behavior, structures the scene, and slows time. The stillness that permeates the composition is not a lack of motion but a different kind of temporality, one dictated by the weather. The falling snow reframes the urban environment, softening its edges, quieting its activity, and creating a meditative space within the bustle of the city. In this way, weather acts as both a visual element and a narrative force. It reminds us that nature and urban life are intertwined and that climate conditions are embedded in the rhythms of human experience.

The artwork also gestures toward broader questions about representation and memory. Why choose to depict Edo under snow? What is at stake in portraying the city as quiet, serene, and harmonious with nature? It may be an idealized vision that aligns with the values of mono no aware, a Japanese aesthetic concept referring to the gentle sadness of impermanence.5 Snow, like life, melts quickly. By capturing such a moment, Hiroshige II transforms the ephemeral into the enduring. The print becomes a record not just of a place but of a mood, an atmosphere, a fleeting encounter between people and their environment.

According to Cristina Berna and Eric Thomsen, who studied Utagawa Hiroshige’s famous 100 Views of Edo, these landscape prints were more than picturesque scenes; they shaped how Edo residents saw their city. They offered viewers a way to appreciate everyday places with fresh eyes and often emphasized the poetic interplay of season and setting.6 Hiroshige II’s continuation of this tradition, as seen in View of Yedo, affirms the cultural importance of representing not just space, but time, seasonal time, emotional time, and the tempo of human movement through the weathered world.

In Japan Journeys, Andreas Marks emphasizes how woodblock prints also functioned as early travel imagery, portraying well-known sites across Japan and appealing to locals and foreigners. In this context, View of Yedo becomes a visual postcard, showcasing a familiar yet re-enchanted part of the city.7 For viewers in nineteenth-century Edo, such a print might have offered a comforting reflection of their routines, walking along canals, huddling beneath umbrellas, watching snow fall across the rooftops.

Lasting Impressions

Today, the print continues to speak to us across time. It asks us to pause, to notice the texture of weather, the poetry of waiting, and the quiet drama of winter in the city. As climate and weather patterns shift in the modern era, Hiroshige II’s snow-covered Edo serves as both a memory and a meditation—a reminder of how humans once viewed the natural world not as something separate, but as something that moved with them, around them, and through them.

Footnotes

  1. Kazuo Nishiyama, Edo Culture: Daily Life and Diversions in Urban Japan, 1600–1868 (University of  Hawaii Press, 1997). ↩︎
  2. Toshidama Gallery, “Techniques in Japanese Prints IV—Bokashi,” October 20, 2011, https://toshidama.wordpress.com/2011/10/20/techniques-in-japanese-prints-iv-bokashi/. ↩︎
  3. Ken-ichi Sasaki, “Landscape as Atmosphere: An Aspect of Japanese Sensibility,” Rivista di Estetica 33 (2006): 85–94. ↩︎
  4.  Beatrice M. Bodart-Bailey, The Dog Shogun: The Personality and Policies of Tokugawa Tsunayoshi (University of Hawaii Press, 2006). ↩︎
  5. Andrew Juniper, Wabi Sabi: The Japanese Art of Impermanence (Tuttle Publishing, 2011). ↩︎
  6. Cristina Berna and Eric Thomsen, Hiroshige: 100 Famous Views of Edo (Books on Demand, 2024). ↩︎
  7. Andreas Marks, Japan Journeys: Famous Woodblock Prints of Cultural Sights in Japan (Tuttle Publishing, 2015). ↩︎