Description
This print illustrates women doing shibori tie-dyeing in Arimatsu. This work was published in Tokyo just before the opening of the First National Industrial Exposition which was held in Ueno Park in August 21, 1877.
About the artist
Hiroshige III was an ukiyo-e artist of the Utagawa school active in the second half of the 19th century. Hiroshige began his artistic education as a teenager under the renowned Hiroshige I. After the death of his teacher, Hiroshige III became the student of Hiroshige I's protégé Hiroshige II. Though Hiroshige II married Hiroshige I's daughter Otatsu shortly after her father's death in 1858, the couple was divorced in 1865. After Hiroshige II retired to Yokohama in 1867, Hiroshige III (then Shigemasa) married Otatsu and took the name Hiroshige III. He used several go (artist names) during his career, including Isshosai, Shigemasa and Shigetora. Hiroshige III's work is bears similarities to that of his famous teacher Hiroshige I. Like his teacher, he created meisho-e (famous place pictures) series, but is also recognized for his kaika-e (enlightenment picture), which show Japan's Meiji period modernization. Hiroshige III depicted scenes from Tokyo, as well as the building of the nations first railroads. Today, Hiroshige III's work can be found in collections such as the British Museum, Philadelphia Museum of Art, and Victoria & Albert Museum.