Hiroshige, 100 Views of Edo

Hiroshige's Edo: Masterful ukiyo-e woodblock prints of Tokyo in the mid-19th century Literally meaning "pictures of the floating world," [b]ukiyo-e refers to the famous Japanese woodblock print genre[/b] that originated in the 17th century and is practically synonymous with the Western world's visual characterization of Japan. Because they could be mass produced, ukiyo-e works were often used as designs for fans, New Year's greeting cards, single prints, and book illustrations, and traditionally they depicted city life, entertainment, beautiful women, kabuki actors, and landscapes. The influence of ukiyo-e in Europe and the USA, often referred to as Japonisme, can be seen in everything from impressionist painting to today's manga and anime illustration. This reprint is made from one of the finest complete original set of woodprints belonging to the Ota Memorial Museum of Art in Tokyo.

Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858) was one of the last great artists in the ukiyo-e tradition. His final masterpiece was a series known as 100 Famous Views of Edo. This resplendent complete reprint pairs each of the 120 large-scale illustrations with a description, allowing readers to plunge themselves into Hiroshige's beautifully vibrant landscapes.

The New York Times - Alida Becker

Bichler and Trede's book…main appeal is its brilliant reproduction of one of the rare complete sets of Hiroshige's original views of Japan's bustling commercial capital, owned by the Ota Memorial Museum of Art in Tokyo, the city of Edo's modern-day successor. Bound from the first run, it illuminates the subtle, painterly effects that were often lost as individual images were reprinted over and over, with less attentiveness and skill, as many as 15,000 times.