Hiroshige and Hokusai

I love ukiyoe (浮世絵). In English, they are called woodblock prints. Of course, two of the most famous Japanese woodblock print artists are Hiroshige and Hokusai. There was recently a display of their work at the Denchu Art Museum (田中美術館) in Ibara. 

We went on Tuesday, which was the very last day of the exhibition. It is a long drive to Ibara, but the show had the complete The Fifty-Three Stations of the Tōkaidō (東海道五十三次) by Hiroshige. Actually, there are 55 pictures in the series. I really like this series, because we can see beautiful landscapes and also see what life was like for people traveling 200 years ago.

There were also some prints by Hokusai and some other famous ukiyoe artists. After viewing the prints, we had a picnic lunch in the park across from the museum. The day was hot, but there was a breeze and we sat in the shade, so it was nice weather for a picnic. There is a statue by Denchu in the park, it is of a kabuki actor.