Utagawa Hiroshige, Katabira River and Katabira Bridge at Hodogaya, No. 5, 1842-1857, color woodblock print, Institute of Chicago
The poetic beauty of Japanese art soothes the soul. The Japanese artist views the natural world as spiritual inspiration, as well as an echoing of human emotions.
One form of art which originated in the Far East is the woodblock. The artist carves an image into a block of wood; this creates a relief. A piece of paper or fabric is pressed onto the block; this transfers the image from the wooden relief onto the surface. The primary wood that is used is from wild cherries (“yamazakura” in Japanese) due to its strength and firmness.
The word, “Ukio-e”, which means “ picture of the floating world”, was a Japanese art movement that was predominant from the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries. The “ukio-e”print depicts the everyday life of the people. The “ukio-e” woodblock has an illusion of depth that has a spiritual quality.
Utagawa Hiroshige was a master of the Japanese landscape woodblock print. He was revered for his scenes of rain, snow, mist, which gave a sense of contentment to the mind and soul. In this other-worldly print my eye is drawn into the scene by the intense lapis blue Katabira River as it winds the distance. I feel the cold as I view the snow-covered mountains and delicate trees as the people make their way across the bridge, yet Spring is in the air as indicated by the green foliage in the background and peeking through in the foreground.
I love how Hiroshige creates a calming quality in a winter scene. Winters can be depressing with months of cold, snow, bitter winds. Yet, soaking in a scene as this one can lift our spirits.
