Accession Number
1948/1.134

Title
Eight Views of Ômi: #1 Evening Snow on Mount Hira

Artist(s)
Utagawa Hiroshige

Artist Nationality
Japanese (culture or style)

Object Creation Date
circa 1834

Medium & Support
color woodblock print on paper

Dimensions
9 in x 13 11/16 in (22.86 cm x 34.77 cm);14 3/8 in x 19 5/16 in (36.51 cm x 49.05 cm);13 1/16 in x 17 1/2 in (33.18 cm x 44.45 cm);9 in x 13 11/16 in (22.86 cm x 34.77 cm)

Credit Line
Bequest of Margaret Watson Parker

Label copy
This print and the one adjacent are from a series depicting Omi (present day Shiga Prefecture) in which Hiroshige began his experiments with composition. Evening Snow on Mount Hira depicts the Hira mountain range to the west of Lake Biwa, an area that often experiences harsh winters and strong winds. In this scene, dark silhouettes of travelers, perhaps along the Tôkaidô Road connecting Kyoto and Edo (presentday Tokyo), can be seen trudging through the snow along the edge of the village. A poem focuses the viewer’s attention:
“He who would see the beauty of the evening on the peaks of Hira must behold it after the snows have fallen and before the flowers are fully blown.”
Spring/Summer Gallery Rotation 2015
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“Eight views,” or hakkei in Japanese, is a term traditionally associated in poetry and painting with the most beautiful scenes of a particular area. In this case Hiroshige has chosen Ômi, a province that during the Edo period was a major station along the Tôkaidô Road, famed for views of the nearby Lake Biwa. Today the area is known as Shiga prefecture, and it is Japan’s sister state to Michigan.
In this image a snow-covered village and clumps of bamboo along an inlet of Lake Biwa are dwarfed by the snowy mass of Mount Hira. Dark silhouettes of travelers, perhaps along the Tôkaidô Road, can be seen trudging through the snow along the edge of
the village. A poem focuses the attention of the viewers:

He who would see the beauty of the evening on the peaks of Hira must behold it after the snows have fallen and before the flowers are fully blown.
exhibited summer 2010
The snowy mass of Mount Hira rises behind a snow-covered village and clumps of bamboo by an inlet of Lake Biwa. The attendant poem:
He who would see the beauty of the evening on the peaks of
Hira must behold it after the snows have fallen and before the
flowers are fully blown.

Subject matter
This print is one of eight that depicted the beauty of Ômi province, centered around Lake Biwa. This particular print shows the dark silhouettes of travelers, perhaps along the Tokaido Road, making their way through the snow.

Physical Description
The snowy mass of Mount Hira rises behind a snow-covered village and clumps of bamboo by an inlet of Lake Biwa. The attendant poem in the upper left corner reads:
He who would see the beauty of the evening on the peaks of
Hira must behold it after the snows have fallen and before the
flowers are fully blown.

Primary Object Classification
Print

Primary Object Type
color print

Collection Area
Asian

Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form. Keywords
abstraction
lakes (bodies of water)
mountains
snow (precipitation)
villages