Utagawa (Ando) Hiroshige, "Izumo Province: Taisha (Hotohoto)

The New Year local ritual of hotohoto involves young people wearing disguises and knocking on doors (which sounds like hotohoto) to receive gifts. Here, a group of revelers holding gifts congregate around the entrance to Izumo Shrine as they plot their next route. Izumo Shrine still is one of Japan's most important Shinto places of worship. A marvelously ethereal design from Hiroshige's "Famous Views of the Sixty-Odd Provinces," which is comprised of sixty-nine separate designs from one of the artist's most famous collections of landscapes. 

Series: Famous Views of the Sixty-Odd Provinces
Date 1853
Size: Oban
Publisher: Koshimuraya Heisuke
Condition: Excellent color and condition
Frame Shown: 16" x 24" x 1/2", Classic Wood, Clear Walnut, Tan Mat

Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858) is the most important Japanese artist to emerge from Edo period ukiyo-e. Hiroshige is a widely recognized master of Japanese woodblock prints whose works have had a tremendous influence on artistic currents throughout the world. His woodblock prints are highly coveted by collectors and museums around the world.