Takahashi Shotei (Hiroaki, 1871-1945) | Travellers in rain | Taisho period, early 20th century

An ode to the great nineteenth-century woodblock print artist Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858), the elements of Shotei’s composition strongly resemble one of his most famous designs Shono: Driving Rain (Shono, hakuu). Both depict travellers caught in a sudden deluge with two palanquin bearers scuttling off their passenger, as well as other figures cloaked in straw scattering in the unexpected rain burst. Further components shared by the two designs are the use of green gradation in the foreground and the silhouetted row of tall trees to the distance bending in the downpour. 

For an impression of Hiroshige’s design, Shono: Driving Rain, in the collection of the British Museum, museum number 1907,0531,0.181, go to: 

https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/A_1907-0531-0-181