Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865) | Memorial portrait of Utagawa Hiroshige | Edo period, 19th century

Gerhard Pulverer (b. 1930)

This print honors the artist Utagawa Hiroshige (1797–1858) and features his farewell poem and biography by the kyoka [lit. mad verse] poet Tenmei Rojin. The seated Hiroshige wears a kimono bearing his monogram Hiro and holds Buddhist rosary beads.

The inscription details the date of Hiroshige's death (6^th day of the 9^th month, 1858), and declares Hiroshige, Kunisada, and Kuniyoshi as the three great masters of ukiyo-e.

The farewell poem reads:

I have let fall my brush at Azuma

and depart to enjoy the wondrous sceneries of the West.

Azumaji ni fude o nokoshite tabi no sora

nishi no mikuni no meishō o mimu

The biography by Tenmei Rojin reads:

Ryusai Hiroshige was a distinguished pupil of Toyohiro, who in turn was a student of Toyoharu—the founder of the Utagawa school. At present, Hiroshige, Toyokuni (Kunisada), and Kuniyoshi are considered the three greatest masters of ukiyo-e, with no equals.

Hiroshige was especially renowned for his landscapes. In the third year of Ansei (1856), he began working on the One Hundred Views of Edo, a series that vividly presents the scenery of Edo. Around the same time, he also published a monthly illustrated book titled Sonnets on Edo Scenes, which showcased his full artistic prowess and won the admiration of his readers.

It is deeply regrettable that he passed from this world on the 6^th day of the 9^th month in the year 1858, at the age of sixty-two. He left behind a farewell sonnet.