225
Andō Hiroshige
Sunrise on New Year’s Day at Susaki
1853, 8th month

Signed: Hiroshige ga; Censors’ marks: Kinugasa and Murata; ōban, yoko-e, 22.0 x 34.4 cm; nishiki-e with fukibokashi

From “Famous Places in Edo”. Three women are greeting the rising sun on New Year’s morning. This motif, considered a lucky omen, was often depicted in ukiyo-e (cf. cat. 147 and 174). “Susaki” may stand for a place near Shinagawa, which Hiroshige depicted from other perspectives in his Edo meisho hyakkei (as no. 83).

Tadamasa Hayashi; Lucas Lichtenhan, Basel (1961); W. Boller
Riese Collection #167

This set was published by Yamada, and because rather large figures of women appear in nearly every plate, it is usually referred as the Yamadaya Fugure Set. This was one of Hiroshige’s last sets of views on Edo in the horizontal format. Having designed several hundred views of Edo he may have thought that he had exhausted the format’s possibilities. The set was issued in two parts, and eventually comprised forty or more subjects (Suzuki lists forty, but at least one other is known). This print is from the first part, and is considered one of the finer designs in the series.

Reproduced in: Ingelheim catalogue, no. 135.