Ejiri: Tago Bay near Okitsu - Utagawa Hiroshige

A vertical woodblock print by Utagawa Hiroshige depicting Tago Bay and Mount Fuji. Part of the 1855 Upright Tokaido series, it features sailing boats and coastal scenery.

This woodblock print is the nineteenth station from the series Famous Sights of the Fifty-three Stations, commonly known as the Upright Tokaido. Published in 1855 by Tsutaya Juzaburo, this series marked a departure from Hiroshige's earlier horizontal compositions of the same route. The vertical format allows for a different spatial arrangement. It places emphasis on the height of Mount Fuji and the receding layers of the coastal terrain. The Upright Tokaido was one of the final major series produced by the artist. It contains fifty-five prints in total, including the starting point at Edo and the terminus at Kyoto. Unlike the more famous Great Tokaido series of the 1830s, these later designs utilise a portrait orientation to explore vertical perspective. This specific view of Tago Bay was a popular subject in Japanese poetry and art, often associated with the clarity of the air and the unobstructed view of the mountain. The scene depicts Tago Bay near Okitsu. In the foreground, two small boats rest on the sandy shore alongside conical structures. These are likely salt-making huts or drying nets. A large sailing vessel occupies the middle ground. Its white sail catches the wind as it moves across the blue water. Smaller craft are visible further out in the bay. This suggests a busy maritime corridor. The water is rendered with a gradated blue wash, a technique known as bokashi, which creates a sense of depth. Mount Fuji dominates the upper half of the composition. Its grey slopes feature fine vertical lines to indicate ridges. A long, horizontal band of pink and yellow cloud floats across the middle of the mountain. This separates the peak from the lower hills. The use of colour suggests the light of early morning or late afternoon. The sky transitions from a pale yellow at the horizon to a neutral tone at the top. A dark grey border frames the very edge of the print.