{"product_id":"mariko-utagawa-hiroshige","title":"Mariko - Utagawa Hiroshige","description":"\u003cp\u003eA winter scene from Hiroshige's Reisho Tokaido series, depicting the village of Mariko under falling snow. This woodblock print uses a muted palette of indigo and white to capture a quiet night.\u003c\/p\u003e\n    \u003cp\u003eUtagawa Hiroshige produced several series documenting the Tokaido road, the coastal route connecting Edo and Kyoto. This specific print belongs to the Reisho Tokaido set, named after the formal clerical script (reisho) used in the title cartouche. Mariko was the twentieth station on the journey. Unlike the more famous Hoeido edition of the same series, this version presents a quiet, nocturnal atmosphere.\n\nThe composition depicts the village of Mariko under a heavy snowfall. White flakes fall against a dark, indigo sky, created using the bokashi technique of graduated colour. The thatched roofs of the houses are thick with snow, forming a rhythmic pattern of white shapes across the lower half of the image. Small figures move through the village, their presence indicated by simple black strokes.\n\nHiroshige used a limited palette of blue and grey tones alongside white to convey the cold temperature of a winter night. The mountains in the background are rendered with soft outlines, suggesting they are partially obscured by the weather. The artist avoided complex details in favour of broad areas of colour and clear silhouettes. This approach creates a sense of stillness and isolation common in his later landscape works.\n\nThe Reisho Tokaido series was published by Maruya Seijiro between 1847 and 1852. It is distinguished by its horizontal format and the use of the reisho script in the red title panel. In this scene, the artist captures the specific geography of the Mariko station, which was located in a narrow valley. The steep hills on either side of the village are simplified into large, flat planes of colour, emphasising the verticality of the terrain.\n\nThe use of negative space is a defining characteristic of this print. By allowing the natural colour of the paper to represent the snow on the ground and roofs, Hiroshige creates a high contrast with the dark sky. This technique was a standard practice in Japanese printmaking but is used here with particular effectiveness to suggest the silence of a winter evening. The small red seal in the lower left corner provides a sharp point of contrast to the otherwise cool colour scheme.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"margin-top:2rem;padding-top:1.5rem;border-top:1px solid #e5e5e5;\"\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"font-size:0.85rem;color:#888;font-weight:600;margin:0 0 0.75rem;text-transform:uppercase;letter-spacing:0.05em;\"\u003eYou might also like\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"display:flex;flex-wrap:wrap;gap:0.5rem;\"\u003e\n\u003ca href=\"\/products\/boating-party-with-children-swimming-kitagawa-utamaro\" style=\"display:inline-block;background:#f8f9fa;border:1px solid #e5e5e5;border-radius:20px;padding:0.35rem 0.85rem;font-size:0.8rem;color:#2a555a;font-weight:500;text-decoration:none !important;background-image:none !important;\"\u003eBoating Party with Children Swimming - Kitagawa Utamaro — Kitagawa Utamaro\u003c\/a\u003e\n\u003ca href=\"\/products\/women-near-a-river-utagawa-kuniyoshi\" style=\"display:inline-block;background:#f8f9fa;border:1px solid #e5e5e5;border-radius:20px;padding:0.35rem 0.85rem;font-size:0.8rem;color:#2a555a;font-weight:500;text-decoration:none !important;background-image:none !important;\"\u003eWomen Near a River - Utagawa Kuniyoshi — Utagawa Kuniyoshi\u003c\/a\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Utagawa Hiroshige","offers":[{"title":"Fine Art Poster \/ A4 (21x29.7 cm) \/ -","offer_id":57843624870223,"sku":null,"price":28.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Fine Art Poster \/ A3 (29.7 x 42  cm) \/ -","offer_id":57843627000143,"sku":null,"price":35.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Fine Art Poster \/ A2 (42 x 59.4  cm) \/ -","offer_id":57843627032911,"sku":null,"price":45.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Fine Art Poster \/ B2 (50x70 cm) \/ -","offer_id":57843627065679,"sku":null,"price":50.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Fine Art Poster \/ A1 (59.4 x 84.1  cm) \/ -","offer_id":57843627098447,"sku":null,"price":55.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0833\/9292\/1935\/files\/Mariko_Poster_CompositorV1_1780439425831.jpg?v=1780440028","url":"https:\/\/www.solisprints.co.uk\/products\/mariko-utagawa-hiroshige","provider":"Solis Prints","version":"1.0","type":"link"}